Kashmir Digits

Your next domestic flight just got costlier as the Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the basic fare for domestic flights.

According to an official order the Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83 to 12.82 per cent.

The (MoCA) has increased the capacity deployment by allowing airlines to sell up to 72.5% seats of their pre-covid-19 capacity on domestic flights, up from 65% earlier.

What’s the hike?

In an order dated August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900—an increase of 11.53 per cent. The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82 per cent to Rs 8,800.

Similarly, flights with duration between 40-60 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 3,700 instead of Rs 3,300 now, the order said. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.24 per cent to Rs 11,000 on Thursday.

The flights with duration between 60-90 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 4,500—an increase of 12.5 per cent. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.82 per cent to Rs 13,200 on Thursday.

Now, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes have lower caps of Rs Rs 5,300, Rs 6,700, Rs 8,300 and Rs 9,800, respectively, as per the ministry’s order.

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 ministry’s order on Thursday stated that the government has taken this decision of increasing the lower limits as well as the upper limits keeping in mind the “prevailing situation of COVID-19” in the country.

(Inputs from PTI)

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