Scindia Discusses Airfares, Airline OTP - News

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday reviewed the self-monitoring mechanism for airfares put in place by individual airlines and emphasised keeping fares in check on select routes.

During an advisory group meeting, there were discussions on airlines' on-time performance (OTP), and the minister instructed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to relook technical specifications at VFR-equipped (Visual Flight Rules) airports to help enhance OTP, according to an official release.

Scindia held a meeting with the airline advisory group that was attended by representatives of various carriers, including Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan.

In a post on social media platform X, Scindia said that he met the advisory group to discuss solutions to enhance on-time performance and "airfares on a few sectors, and in-house practices followed by each airline".

Specific details about the discussion on airfares and the particular routes could not be immediately ascertained.

There have been concerns in certain quarters about the trend of rising air ticket prices.

The release said the minister reviewed the self-monitoring mechanism with regard to airfares followed by each airline and emphasised keeping fares in check on a select few routes.

"The DGCA Tariff Monitoring Unit has been institutionalised to routinely monitor airfares on routes selected on a random basis," it added.

To bolster connectivity of tier 2 and tier 3 cities with international destinations (like Ayodhya and Surat), Scindia asked airlines to submit individual aircraft induction as well as deployment plans for the next six months, as per the release.

The minister advised that airlines must focus on point-to-point direct connectivity and ramp up capacities with wide-body and narrow-body long-range aircraft.

During another advisory group meeting, the minister assured full support to entrepreneurs of small aircraft operators and helicopter services to expand their operations.

According to an official release, the minister committed to enhancing processes and approvals for participating operators.

"To that end, a special cell for helicopters and small aircraft will be envisaged, as and when the DGCA ramps up manpower capacities," it said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Alliance Air, Indiaone Air, Heritage Aviation, BAOA, Air Taxi and PHL, among others.