The operations at IndiGo airline have been in disarray since the start of this month. Thousands of flights have been cancelled across the country, and the crisis has been attributed largely to the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.
IndiGo flight cancellations trigger chaos at Indian airports (Photo: ANI)
Amid the ongoing IndiGo crisis, the Union government on Saturday issued a direction to airlines to cap airfares in the range of Rs 7,500 to Rs 18,000. The range would depend on the distance of the flight. The order came in view of the soaring air ticket prices following widespread cancellations at the IndiGo airline.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued the said order and set the fare limits, excluding applicable charges. The capping, however, would not be applicable for business class and UDAN flights.
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A report which mentioned the fare limits did not say whether the caps are applicable to economy class tickets or both economy and premium economy class tickets.
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As per the government order, the fares have been capped at Rs 7,500 for a flight distance of up to 500 kilometres. The ticket price would not be more than Rs 12,000 for 500 to 1,000 kilometres flight distance.
For flights having a distance between 1,000 to 1,500 kilometres, the fares would not exceed Rs 15,000, while for flights more than 1,500 kilometres, the cap has been set at Rs 18,000.
The airfares have been capped at least till the time the ongoing situation stabilises.
The order stated that the capping does not include the User Development Fee (UDF), Passenger Service Fee (PSF), and taxes.
“These fare limits shall be applicable for all forms of bookings, regardless of whether the purchase is made directly through the airline’s official website or through various online travel agents’ platforms,” the ministry order said.
The operations at IndiGo airline have been in disarray since the start of this month. Thousands of flights have been cancelled across the country, and the crisis has been attributed largely to the implementation of Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules.
Thousands of passengers have been inconvenienced and baggage too have been misplaced.
Today itself, IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, cancelled over 400 flights. Yesterday, the number stood at more than 1,000.
While the government put in abeyance the FDTL rules to help the situation normalise, it also today directed IndiGo to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening. The airline has also been instructed to ensure that baggage separated from the travellers are delivered within the next two days.
The airline has also been asked to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.
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