Air travel must reach common man; will keep a check on airfares: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu

The Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu aims to make air travel affordable to common man by making airfare affordable. This, he said after taking charge as the Civil Aviation Minister on Thursday

'Check on airfare'

After assuming office, Naidu said that his first priority is to keep a check on airfare and create 'ease of flying'. While saying that the steps to be taken to keep air fares in check were not yet decided he assured that his intention was to make air travel affordable to the common man.

"My target is to make India the largest civil aviation market in the world and to achieve that, the prices have to affordable. We are going to hold a policy meeting to take necessary steps", Naidu said

Naidu further acknowledged that despite bringing in schemes like UDAAN, external factors such as Covid had played a part in the aviation sector.

"The department has to sit down and discuss. Whenever that happens, my priority would be to bring down the prices," he added.

Aviation sector in India

Aviation sector in India has seen rapid growth as air traffic continues to rise and airlines expand their operations by connecting new destinations. However there also has been concerns in certain quarters about airfares being higher, especially during peak seasons.

On average, the number of daily domestic air traffic is around 4.3-4.5 lakh, and domestic airlines carried more than 15.20 crore passengers in 2023.

Earlier in February, a Parliamentary Committee proposed route-specific capping of airfares and setting up of a separate entity to exercise control over air ticket prices. The panel pronounced that the self-regulation of ticket prices by airlines has not been effective.

Meanwhile, on civil aviation infrastructure, Naidu said that the department was being looked upon by the government with prime focus.

Also watch: Delhi High Court refuses to cap airfares; says auto-rickshaw fares sometimes higher than airfares