Domestic flight fare band to now be applicable for 15 days: What this means

The Civil Aviation Ministry, on Saturday, September 18, announced that it has tweaked the domestic flight fare band rule, which says that the airlines will be able to set a lower and upper limit on the ticket price for a period of 15 days at any given time, instead of the earlier 30 days. This means, from the 16th day onwards till a scheduled flight departure day, the airlines will be free to charge the passengers without any limits, the Civil Aviation Ministry stated on Saturday. Since August 12 this year, this roll-over period was of 30 days and the airlines have been charging without limits from the 31st day onwards.

What the rule means

In a fresh order issued on Saturday, the Civil Aviation Ministry explained the change in rule: "If the current date is September 20, then the fare band shall be applicable till October 4. Any booking done on September 20 for travel on or after October 5 shall not be controlled by fare bands."

The order further said, "On the following day, that is, if the current date is September 21, then the fare band shall be in force till October 5 and for travel on or after October 6, the fare bands shall not be applicable."

So, the fare bands will shift by a day every day, it added.

This means that in case of last-minute bookings, as long as passengers book their domestic flights ticket(s) 15 days before the scheduled date of departure, they can avail the subsidised airfare. In other normal cases, like a one-month advance booking, the fares as fixed by the airline will remain.

Why lower-upper limits were introduced

India had imposed lower and upper limits on airfares based on flight duration when services were resumed on May 25, 2020, after a two-month COVID-19-triggered lockdown.

The lower caps were imposed to help the airlines that have been struggling financially due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The upper caps were imposed so that passengers are not charged huge amounts when the demand for seats is high.

Domestic air travel became costlier on August 12 this year as the Civil Aviation Ministry had raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83% to 12.82%.

For example, the ministry, on August 12, increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900 — an increase of 11.53%. The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82% to Rs 8,800.

The caps mentioned by the government in its order does not include the passenger security fee, user development fee for the airports and the GST. These charges are added on top when the ticket is being booked by the passenger.

The August 12 order also mentioned that the limits on airfares will remain in place for 30 days at any given time. On Saturday, the ministry modified the August 12 order, replacing the word "30 days" with "15 days."

(With input from PTI)