Government raises lower band of air fare by 5%

Flying within India is set to get more expensive as the government has increased the lower fare band by 5% owing to the recent increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices.

The government has, however, decided not to increase the limit of flights that airlines are allowed to operate to beyond 80% of per-Covid flights, as an increase in cases has impacted passenger growth. “Last few days have seen a decline in the number of air passengers largely due to restrictions & imposition of compulsory RT-PCR test by various states. Due to this we have decided to retain the permissible limit to 80% of schedule,” aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on Friday.