The civil aviation ministry on Monday informed Parliament that all airline operators had been adhering to tariff norms for the last five years and none had been found charging irrational fares.
The response came a week after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airlines to rationalise fares for flights to Allahabad because of the ongoing Mahakumbh amid concerns over higher ticket prices on the route.
“In the last five years, tariff monitoring unit (TMU) analysis has shown that all airlines are in compliance of Rule 135(1) and Rule 135(2),” minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol said in the Rajya Sabha.
Mohol was responding to a question by CPM Rajya Sabha member John Brittas on "exorbitant" airfares.
The tariffs set by airlines under the provisions of Rule 135(1) of the Aircraft Rules 1937 are required to be published on their websites under Rule 135(2). The DGCA’s tariff monitoring unit keeps track of airfares on selected routes to ensure that the airlines do not charge fares beyond the range prescribed under Rule 135(2).
Rule 135(4) of the Aircraft Rules 1937, empowers the DGCA to issue directions to airlines that have set excessive or predatory fares or indulged in oligopoly.
Brittas said the government had taken an astonishing stance by asserting that there had been no instanceof excessive or predatory airfare or oligopolistic practices by airlines in the past five years.
“This claim is in stark contrast to the reality experienced by air travellers over the years,” he said.