Members of Congress said migrant workers with limited income working in Gulf countries were forced to pay for high-altitude aircraft. File | Picture source: B. Velankanni Raj
Leaders from various opposition parties have called for limiting air ticket caps and establishing a quasi-judicial body to legally monitor them, and believe that ticket prices have become “exploited”, especially “excessive” during the holidays.
Also Read: DGCA Gives Up After Airline Delays Past Ticket Data
Members of Parliament spoke at Lok Sabha in a July 26, 2024 discussion of solutions proposed by Congress leader Shafi Paramabil, where he sought a “reasonable cap”, a joint meeting with airline operators and related stakeholders to discuss excessive aircraft during the deaths, and in the Quasi-dequasi-judicial to Condical and Meportal and Equartial and Ectrife and Ectional and Ectional and Ectional and Ectional and Ectional and trararife”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
In the discussion, it is unacceptable for MPs of Kerala President Kuriakose to define air tickets as “reasonable” as “robbery” of passengers. Mr Kuriakose stressed: “The Prime Minister’s love for his NRI community is a moral obligation of the government.”
“It’s time for the government to decide to take concrete steps to ensure air tickets are not exploited in the name of market dynamics,” he said, questioning how tickets for off-season rose to €77,000 during the peak season during the off-season.
He also sought to implement the recommendations made in the report of the 375th Parliamentary Standing Committee, which authorized the Civil Aviation Administration (DGCA) to have quasi-judicial powers to impose price caps or impose fines on airlines for excessive aircraft. He also recommends taking DGCA Suo Motu Recognize the exploitative nature of air tickets and forward it to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to examine the mechanisms of “cartel behavior” airlines and peak season pricing so that the right facts can emerge.
“We do not ask for charity or discounts,” he said.
Trinamool MP MP Mahua Moitra called for air tariff regulations to be adopted during festivals such as Durga Puja, when high air tickets prevented people from visiting West Bengal’s families and called for a “air ticket band”. She said that while the aviation sector has a double monopoly, Indigo and Air India control 90% of the passenger share, efforts should be made to ensure that last-minute ticket prices are not as high as 10 times higher. She also urged pensioners and seniors to stamp air tickets as “25% or 50%” and they can be given four such tickets a year.
Also Read: Doubled airline capacity on India’s UAE route will help Indian consumers save $1.05 billion: Report
Samawadi MP Anand Bhadauria said the BJP slogan was one of the “opportunities for difficult times”, such as the one witnessed during the Maha Kumbh Festival, when expensive air tickets prevented ordinary people from traveling to Prayagraj. He is scanning BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who earlier defended the airline’s collection of premium tickets.
SP leaders said that although DGCA constitutes a tariff monitoring unit, it is because its work is to monitor whether airlines charge whether the fares displayed on the tariff tables posted on its website are the same, as those fares are determined as they wish. He also reiterated the requirements of the Joint Commission and the quasi-judicial body for regulating and surveillance of air tickets.
Bihar Rajesh Ranjan’s independent MP asked: “How many times would you kill the same hen?” He called airport operators “terrorists” who made money from food and other retail sales, but it was the average person who paid for CISF security at the airport. He lamented: “People pay in the sky and on the ground.” The MP also said: “If we are a Hindu country, air travel during Hindu festivals such as Durga Pooja, Kali Pooja and chhath pooja should be provided for free, and the fees should be recovered from Adani and Ambani.”
Congress leader KC Venugopal called on the House government to consider controlling high air tickets during festivals and emergencies because it is “an hourly need.”
BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who spoke earlier, introduced the airline’s views and noted that several factors played a role in determining air tickets, including the cost of aviation turbine fuel, VAT on it, aircraft and engine rental costs, payment in USD, ground handling costs, and user development costs paid to airport operators. He believes that airline seats are decaying goods and their fares depend on demand and supply mechanisms. He also accused the airport of increased costs and noted: “Airlines are poor, but airports are richer at the moment.”
He also accused ordinary people of low “psychological” air tickets. “With Air India and Air India, there is a twist in the market, and the Prime Minister evacuated. This twist has fallen into the hearts of people, which prompts us to say the fares are high.” Impressed by the government’s support for the former national airline Air India, which has led to subsidized air travel.
Rajya Sabha also discussed the discussion of interests in the Aircraft Objects Act 2025 and then continued the business of private members (resolution). The bill involves resolving disputes between lessors and airlines on aircraft, engines and other parts.
publishing – March 29, 2025 at 02:22 AM IST
