Keep airfares on certain routes in check

Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, led an Advisory Group meeting with key representatives from the airline industry on issues pertaining to performance and services provided by airlines to customers.

The Minister laid emphasis on enhancing On-Time Performance (OTP) of each airline, and instructed Airports Authority of India to relook technical specifications at VFR-equipped (Visual Flight Rules) airports to help enhance OTP of airlines.

He also reviewed the self-monitoring mechanism with regard to airfares followed by each airline, and emphasized upon keeping fares in check on select few routes. The DGCA Tariff Monitoring Unit has been institutionalized to routinely monitor airfares on routes selected on a random basis.

With the aim to bolster connectivity of tier2 and tier 3 cites with international destinations (such as for Ayodhya and Surat), the Minister asked airlines to submit individual aircraft induction as well as deployment plans for the next six months. He advised that airlines must focus on point-to-point direct connectivity, and thus, ramp up capacities with wide body and narrow-body-long-range aircraft.

The meeting also was attended by Gen (Retd) Dr. V. K. Singh, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation & Road Transport and Highways, Shri Vumlunmang Vualnam, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and other senior officials from the Ministry.