New Delhi: The aviation ministry's reportedly growing 'interference' in running of airlines by trying to fix upper and lower bands of airfares has invited the wrath of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Commission chairman Ashok Chawla has said the government cannot fix the "maximum retail price (MRP) of airfares" like other consumer items as fares are decided by market forces of demand and supply. This order effectively bars the government from regulating airfares.
Apart from the issue of regulating airfares, Chawla — a former aviation and finance secretary — had recently written to the aviation ministry's controversial and now-disbanded aircraft acquisition committee (AAC), whose nod airlines needed to bring in planes to India. The CCI action came after a complaint filed by advocate Ankit Jain against AAC after reports of airlines' request for importing planes being unnecessarily held up there.
27/03/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
