INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fare bands for domestic flights have been extended and kept unchanged till February 24, 2021, Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a press
Along with this, the ministry also announced that more flights would be allowed in the coming days based on passenger traffic
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had announced seven fare bands for domestic flights after Civil Aviation
Minister Hardeep Singh Puri called for a cap on the domestic airfare
These fare bands came into force with effect from May 21, 2020
The seven fare bands are time-based
The first band has flights that are operated under 40 minutes duration
The rest of the fare bands are applicable on 40-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes, 120-150 minutes, 150-180 minutes, and 180-210
minutes of flight durations.According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the daily passenger air traffic reached 2.05 lakh on November 1, 2020
When domestic aviation services resumed in May 2020, the airlines were allowed to fly up to 33 per cent of their normal capacity
The average daily traffic during that time was about 30,000
This cap was enhanced to 45 per cent with effect from June 26, 2020
The cap was further relaxed to 60 per cent with effect from September 2, 2020
At present, the airlines can operate up to 60 per cent of their capacity.The Ministry of Civil Aviation stated that it has been monitoring
the traffic every day, and that the air traffic is expected to further pick up because of the festive season
As the passenger traffic increases, the upper cap would be revised to 70-75 per cent of normal capacity in the coming days.Meanwhile,
recently a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with a subsidiary of National Thermal
Power Corporation (NTPC) to promote the usage of electric vehicles and set up solar power plants at airports
To set up the solar power plants, adequate land and rooftop space at the identified AAI airports will be provided to NTPC Vidyut Vyapar
Nigam (NVVN), a subsidiary of NTPC, free of cost
More than 100 airports are owned and managed by AAI across the country.
