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Aviation Regulator Advises Airlines To Increase Flights For Keeping Airfares In Check

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is reviewing hike in airfares on specific routes.

Air India flight A321 sits on the tarmac during the inauguration of the B777-200LR and Airbus 321at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg News)
Air India flight A321 sits on the tarmac during the inauguration of the B777-200LR and Airbus 321at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. (Photographer: Pankaj Nangia/Bloomberg News)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is reviewing the hike in airfares on specific routes across the country and it has advised airlines to increase flights so that the fares remain in check, a senior official said.

The DGCA held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the upward spiral in airfares as Jet Airways continues to ground its aircraft and cancel a significant number of flights.

The cash-strapped airline had said that it had grounded four more planes, taking the number of aircraft that were non-operational due to non-payment of lease rentals to 41.

"We have not issued any diktat to the airlines. We have just advised them that they should increase their capacity to keep airfares in check," the senior DGCA official told PTI.

He added that the regulator is currently "reviewing hike in airfares on specific routes".

He said the airlines have stated that they will keep airfares under control that have increased due to various domestic factors.

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Talking about Jet Airways' situation, the DGCA statement said there may be "further attrition" of flights "in coming weeks" as, it observed, the situation as "dynamic".

For the past few weeks, passengers have been venting their ire on social media as the airline's flight cancellations have increased gradually due to the rising number of grounded aircraft.

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