Intervention by the Government to stop domestic airlines from charging the rates they do would be in contravention of Indian laws and also anti-competitive, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the minister emphasized that airfares were market driven and would rise or fall according to the demand. As the demand rises, the prices on tickets of low-fare seats too go up, he said.
Non Resident Indians (NRI) often complained that low fare seats were being priced very high by domestic airlines flying international routes. The Members of Parliament (MPs) from Kerala and other states questioned the aviation minister if he was aware of Kerala Gulf flights charging higher than the limits set.
There are no norms or limits and airlines were free to determine a reasonable fare according to the Aircraft Rules, 1937, Sinha told PTI. He added that cost of operations, profit along with the kind of service offered and the prevailing traffic are often considered before deciding on the fares.
The minister said airlines had to maintain the rates of the tickets in line with the rates determined and displayed on their websites after weighing in all the charges.
