New Delhi: The worst is over for India's civil aviation sector as passenger traffic is fast reaching pre-COVID levels.
In a conversation with IANS, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said that the worst is over for the aviation sector which has successfully transformed its image as an elitist mode of transportation to that of a bare essential one.
The sector played a pivotal role in repatriation, transporting essential medicines, PPE kits, agricultural produce and equipment during the lockdown phase.
Even now, it is ferrying temperature controlled vaccines for the worlds largest inoculation programme.
"The worst seems to be behind us. Daily passenger numbers are rising, but we will wait till it reaches the mark of 3.85 lakh per day. At that level, the current traffic rate would have reached the per-Covid levels. Only after reaching that mark and seeing a consistency in that trend will we be able to lift the fare and capacity cap," Kharola said.
Notably, the 3.85 lakh daily passenger mark is the average of 2019 traffic.
After reaching that mark, the Centre will wait to see that it is being met on a consistent basis before removing the caps.
Presently, the Centre has expanded the airfare cap by increasing the lower fare band by 10 per cent, while the upper limit has been raised by 30 per cent. These fare bands came into force with effect from May 21, 2020.
Under the fare structure, air routes are divided into seven sections based on travel time. Each section has its minimum and maximum fare. For instance, Delhi-Mumbai ticket price has been fixed at Rs 3,000-Rs 13,000.
Currently, the airlines can operate up to 80 per cent of their pre-Covid capacity.
23/02/21 IANS/New Indian Express
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