The India government has increased the lower and upper limits on domestic airfares by between 10 to 30%.
It allows airlines to charge more for flights with the Civil Aviation Ministry believing there is less scope for price gouging in the market.
Special caps were placed on domestic airfares when Indian airlines were allowed to resume services after the nationwide lockdown in May 2020.
At that time capacity was heavily restricted and caps were imposed to stop overcharging.
Capacity caps have been progressively relaxed over time and now officials will allow airlines to charge more on seven different fare bands which are based on flight duration.
The new caps are in force until the end of March 2021.
The lower and upper price bands were INR2,500 – 7,500 for short flights of up to one hour, to INR6,500 – 18,600 for longer flights of more than three hours.
Indian airlines are now able to operate up to 80% of their pre-Covid schedules, which has gradually been increased since last May when it was just 33%.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
