Airlines flight rates skyrocket due to Chennai floods

With the Chennai rains creating havoc in the Tamil Nadu capital, private air carriers have increased the air fare rates manifold. A round-trip ticket between Delhi to Bangalore, which is the closest major airport to Chennai and is now attracting a heavy influx of air traffic, now ranges anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.As the Chennai airport has been shut down due to the floods since November 30, passengers are opting for flights to Bangalore.

A round-trip flight ticket between Delhi and Bangalore on GoAir ranges between Rs 34,000 to Rs 42,000. In Jet Airways, in the same sector, the flights cost anywhere between Rs 46,000 to Rs 75,000. Spice Jet flights in the same sector are between Rs 41,000 to Rs 56,000.

The Chennai airport will resume operations today. It must be added that on ThursdayJet Airways announced that they will fully refund for cancelled tickets, and rescheduling of confirmed tickets will be free of charge on flights between December 1 and December 8, operating from Chennai.In August this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his concerns over the recent hikes in airfares, saying that a layperson will not be able to book tickets during an emergency. He held a meeting with aviation ministry officials and sought to address the issue of predatory pricing. "Airlines need to reduce fares and not hike them particularly when it comes to emergency travel like in medical emergency," minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma had said then.

It must also be added that early last month the Delhi government levied a 5% hike on the value added tax on jet fuel. After the hike, which became effective November 17, a kilolitre of jet fuel now costs Rs 44,846 per kilolitre, with a hike of Rs 1,795. Sudhakar Reddy, president of Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) said that this rampant cheating of the public must be addressed.

“There are sectors where the hike is above 300%. The airlines must not overcharge passengers during an emergency. One understands hikes during festivals, but during a natural calamity this is rampant cheating,” he said. A few private airlines I have spoken to have cited usual last moment hikes, which is not the case,” says Reddy.

He said that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is toothless in its demeanor and must act as an effective watchdog. Repeated attempts to get i touch with several officials at DGCA went in vain.