High airfares will hit tourism: House panel

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

A parliamentary panel has expressed strong concerns over the arbitrary manner in which airfares are charged by airlines. In fact, it termed as “lame excuse” the explanation offered by the Civil Aviation Ministry on the issue.

In yet another report tabled in Parliament today the same panel also warned that airfares, “which were on the higher side” will adversely affect domestic tourism.

“The Ministry of Tourism may take up the issue with the Civil Aviation Ministry and airlines operators so that a control over exorbitant airfares in India can be exercised,” it said.

Coming down heavily on the airlines for “predatory” pricing mechanism and not passing on the reduction in prices of jet fuel to passengers, the committee called for a regulatory mechanism to ensure that the airfares remain within reasonable range.

“The existing system has not worked”, the department-related Parliamentary Committee told the Civil Aviation Ministry.

The non-availability of a transparent mechanism to regulate airfare in the country was causing hardships to common travelers. Due to this airlines feel “free to charge as much as they can and the travelers also are caught unawares”.

“The committee does not agree with the argument of the ministry that some rules/regulations under Aircraft Act, 1934, regulate airfare in the country”, the panel headed by Rajya Sabha member Kanwar Deep Singh said. “The Act and the rules framed is more than 80 years old and the civil aviation sector during the period has undergone a sea change”, it added.

Calling for an immediate overhaul of the Act and the rules under it, the committee said the idea of providing competition among airlines had also not worked.