With an aim to keep air fares in check, the government has advised airlines to increase the number of flights, news agency PTI reported citing an unidentified official. The aviation regulator DGCA is also reviewing surge in ticket prices on specific routes, the report added.
“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 the news agency.
Earlier today, the DGCA held a meeting with the cash-strapped airline to discuss the rise in airfares as Jet Airways continues to ground its aircraft and cancel a significant number of flights.
Also read: Pilots warn Jet Airways: Pay salaries by month end or we will stop flying from April 1
The regulator had also warned against further attrition of cash-strapped Jet Airways flights. The airline has 41 aircrafts available for operation currently, of the 119 in total, the aviation regulator said.
“The DGCA reviewed the performance of Jet Airways on operational, airworthiness & passenger facilitation today. Current availability of aircraft in the fleet for operation is 41 and accordingly scheduled for 603 domestic flights and 382 international flights has been drawn. However, it is a dynamic situation and there may be further attrition in coming weeks”, news agency PTI had reported citing DGCA spokesperson.
The regulator had also instructed the cash-strapped airline to abide by “the relevant provisions of the applicable CARs (Civil Aviation Requirements) for facilitation of passengers regarding timely communication, compensation, refunds and providing alternate flights wherever applicable”, PTI had also reported the company spokesperson as saying.