Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Tuesday, reviewed the self-monitoring system for airfares put in place by the individual airlines to keep a check on airfares on select routes. The Minister chaired the meeting of the advisory committee and discussed the airlines’ on-time performance, as well as redirected the Airport Authority of India to relook technical specifications at VFR-equipped (Visual Flight Rules) airports, to enhance On-time performance.The meeting was attended by the representatives of various air carriers, including the CEO of Vistara Vinod Kannan.

Monitoring airfares

Point-to-Point Direct Connectivity

“The DGCA Tariff Monitoring Unit has been institutionalised to routinely monitor airfares on routes selected on a random basis,” it added. To bolster connectivity of tier 2 and tier 3 cities with international destinations (like Ayodhya and Surat), Scindia asked airlines to submit individual aircraft induction as well as deployment plans for the next six months, as per the release.

Support for Stakeholders

Scindia also emphasized point-to-point direct connectivity with wide-body and narrow-body long-range aircraft. The minister also ensured the entrepreneurs of small aircraft operators and helicopter services with full support to expand their operations, as well as enhancing processes and approvals for participating operators.

“To that end, a special cell for helicopters and small aircraft will be envisaged, as and when the DGCA ramps up manpower capacities,” it said. The meeting was attended by representatives of Alliance Air, Indiaone Air, Heritage Aviation, BAOA, Air Taxi and PHL, among others.