A CAP ON BOTH FEARS & FARES

Air travel will no longer cost a bomb; it will also be a more ‘sanitised’ experience

New Delhi

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday announced the lower and upper limits of domestic air fares with a rider that 40% of the tickets be sold at the lower rate. This is to ensure that it doesn't cost a bomb to travel by domestic flights being resumed from Monday in a calibrated manner. At the same time, the airline will benefit from the upper band of fares.

Only one-third of the flights will operate in the beginning but more may be allowed later, based on the experience.

There will be no 14-day quarantine, as is the case with those arriving from abroad under the Vande Bharat programme, since the flights will be for short duration and the passengers will be allowed board only after all checks at the starting point.

The middle seats shall not be kept vacant, because the passengers are allowed after screening and, therefore, social distancing is unnecessary, the Union Aviation Minister Hardip Puri said.

Moreover, it is not viable as it will inevitably lead to a hike in ticket prices.

The pricing has been decided on the basis of the flight duration, which is divided into 7 sections. That is, less than 40 minutes, up to one hour, 60 to 90 minutes, 90 to 120 minutes, 120 to 150 minutes, 150 minutes to three hours and 3 to 3.5 hours.

In a Delhi-Mumbai flight, for instance, the minimum fare will be Rs 3500 and the maximum Rs 10,000; the rider is that 40% of the tickets will be sold at less than Rs 6700, in the middle band. The 5% GST, airport tax, etc. will, of course, be extra.

In reply to a question about Indians being evacuated from abroad under the Vande Bharat programme, Puri said 20,000 have been already brought back and the target is to get another 50,000 by month end.

Asked if some airlines may opt out if they feel the fixation of fares is uneconomical, the minister denied any such possibility, since they had been duly consulted in the matter.

Passengers will have to make a self-declaration about their health parameters; the Aarogya Setu App will also give their status, certifying that he/she is free of COVID-19 symptoms.

"A passenger with red status on Aarogya Setu App will not be allowed to travel," said Puri.

On the question of resuming international flights, the Minister said the Centre might have to tweak some procedures based on its experience on opening up of domestic flights, and only then it would think about international flights. The Civil Aviation Ministry has also released dos and don'ts for passengers, such as instructions on arrival, baggage collection and exit from airport, guidelines to be followed inside the aircraft, instructions to be followed in the security hold area, rules to be followed after reaching the airport and norms to be followed while boarding the aircraft. Passengers have to get self- checked for temperature and display the status on their Aarogya Setu App at the entry gate, or go to the counter where the app can be downloaded.

In case of a non-app compatible phone, the passenger has to give a selfdeclaration.

Baggage trollies will be discouraged.

The airline shall ensure that the boarding pass is issued only after the passenger adheres to all mandatory requirements.

No meals will be served on flight; nor can passengers bring their own food. Water bottles will be kept on every seat. No newspaper/magazine will be allowed on board. The airlines will inform passengers of the reporting time at the airport which will be at least two hours before the scheduled time of departure.