Costs are reasonable compared to evacuation flights from other countries: Hardeep Singh Puri
New Delhi:
Ticket prices set by Air India for special international flights operated as part of the Vande Bharat mission are reasonable, said Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday.
“Although the rates charged are not normal commercial rates, they are reasonable compared to evacuation flights from other countries in the same sectors,” Puri said on Twitter.
As part of the Vande Bharat mission, Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express began operating international flights from May 7 to repatriate stranded Indians from abroad. Between May 7 and June 1, the Air India group flew a total of 423 incoming international flights as part of the mission, bringing back 58,867 Indians.
“Some people” have raised concerns about the rates charged by Air India for special Vande Bharat flights, said Puri.
He also gave examples of fares from other countries to show that Air India’s fares are reasonable.
“The economy class fare paid by travelers for evacuation flights organized by the relevant Embassy of the United States of America was Rs 3.00 lakhs for Houston.” M. Puri mentioned.
Similarly, travelers paid Rs 1.62 lakhs in Toronto and Rs 1.84 lakhs in Vancouver for evacuation flights organized from India by the Canadian High Commission, said the minister.
“Our citizens pay 1.07 Rs lakhs between India and Canada on Vande Bharat flights. The difference is obvious,” he added.
While scheduled domestic passenger flights resumed on May 25 after an interval of two months, scheduled international passenger flights remain suspended in India.
“Travelers to Tel Aviv paid 82,500 for their evacuation flights organized by the relevant embassy (Israel) between Delhi and Tel Aviv while Indian citizens pay 51,938 rupees to fly between the two destinations. Air India’s rates for Vande Bharat are reasonable, “said the minister.
