SpiceJet said it had already complied with the DGCA directive.
New Delhi:
Aviation regulator DGCA has asked SpiceJet to stop its five-day discounted sale of tickets that began on Monday as government-imposed fare limits have been in place since domestic flights resumed on May 25, senior officials said.
SpiceJet, in a press release Monday morning, announced that it had launched a five-day “1 + 1 offer sale” where it offered base one-way fares from Rs 899, excluding tax, on its home network.
The statement says customers booking a ticket during the sale will receive a free voucher worth up to Rs 2,000 per booking, which can be used for future bookings.
Highlighting the tariff limits imposed by the government, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked SpiceJet to stop the sale, senior regulator officials said Monday afternoon.
Asked about this, a spokesperson for SpiceJet said: “We have already complied with the DGCA directive.”
On May 21, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had placed upper and lower limits on domestic air fares across seven bands, ranked on the basis of flight duration, through August 24. Later it was extended until November 24.
Regular domestic passenger services resumed on May 25 after almost two months of suspension to fight the coronavirus epidemic. Scheduled international passenger flights have still been suspended in India since March 23.
In addition to airfare limits, the government had asked airlines not to operate more than 33% of their pre-COVID domestic flights. On June 26, the cap was raised to 45%.
After Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on May 21 that there would be limits on air fares until August 24, the DGCA issued an order with more details.
The regulator had said there would be seven price brackets for tickets with lower and upper price limits based on flight duration.
The first of these bands includes flights lasting less than 40 minutes. The lower and upper tariff limits for the first bracket are respectively Rs 2,000 and Rs 6,000.
The following bands are for flights lasting 40 to 60 minutes, 60 to 90 minutes, 90 to 120 minutes, 120 to 150 minutes, 150 to 180 minutes and 180 to 210 minutes.
The lower and upper limits of these bands are: Rs 2,500-Rs 7,500; Rs 3000-Rs 9000; Rs 3,500-Rs 10,000; Rs 4,500-Rs 13,000; Rs 5,500-Rs 15,700 and Rs 6,500-Rs 18,600, respectively, the DGCA said.
The regulator had made it clear that each airline would sell at least 40 percent of its tickets on a flight at prices below the midpoint between the lower limit and the upper limit.
The aviation industry has been significantly impacted due to travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, unpaid leave and employee layoffs in order to save money.
The occupancy rate for Indian domestic flights has been around 50-60% since May 25.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
