Union Minister for Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday acknowledged that exorbitant airfares had caused serious trouble for travellers wanting to reach home for Onam holidays. Nonetheless, he said that a larger number of aircraft and the breaking of the IndiGo-Air India duopoly alone were the only way to tackle the issue.
“I acknowledge that an airfare situation is there in Kerala. It is seasonal in a way because all the festivals are coming around at almost the same time. And there is a lot of demand for people to come to Kerala and fly from here,” the minister said while interacting with Congress MP Hibi Eden during the Manorama News Conclave in Kochi.
“Kerala has a huge diaspora. One million in the Middle East alone. And travelling has become exorbitant. People are finding it difficult to visit their homes during Onam, Christmas and Vishu,” Eden told the Union minister.
Ram Mohan Naidu said that the country did not have enough planes. “We have created an aspiration in the people that more people can comfortably travel in air. But when it comes to the demand meeting the supply, there is a huge mismatch,” the minister said.
He also hinted that there was no immediate solution. “Pricing in aviation is dynamic. It is not only how India has done it. It is the international way and is designed to give the best pricing to the passenger. What I would say as the policymaker is that we need more airlines in the country. We need to increase the number of aircraft that we have in the country. Make in India is important. Opening of new airlines is important. That increases the competition, which will bring down the prices,” the minister said.
He said that the pricing issue had reached him, “mostly through MPs from Kerala”. “We have tried to do small adjustments. During this season, we have told the airlines, why don’t you have more capacity put in this region so that there is an increase in the supply. We are trying to do as much as possible, but ultimately, if you ask me what the solution is, we need to have more aircraft in the country,” the minister said.
Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, there is viability gap funding (VGF) for airline companies and also capping of fares for 50 per cent of the seats. But the facility is only for the unconnected or underserved airports. It is not applicable for Kerala.
The worst affected are the non-resident Keralites arriving from the Gulf. The private airlines have significantly hiked ticket prices for the peak holiday season between August 10 and September 15. Normal one-way tickets that usually cost between ₹12,000 and ₹25,000 have ballooned to ₹50,000, with some airlines charging up to ₹65,000. Aviation companies, however, blame the exorbitant prices on fuel price hikes driven by global geopolitical tensions.
Even early-bird travellers who booked their tickets months in advance have not been spared. Several airlines have demanded an additional fuel surcharge of ₹7,000, offering passengers the ultimatum of paying up or accepting a refund. Return flights after Onam are expected to scale fares up to ₹75,000.
