The Union civil aviation ministry said late Sunday that it had “thoroughly checked” the claims made about the exorbitant airfare being charged on the Delhi-London route and discovered that the reports were unfounded. After the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airlines that currently operate India-UK flights to submit details about their fares, the ministry issued a statement on Twitter.
“There are media reports claiming India-UK one-way economy class fares have touched Rs. 4 lakhs. These reports have no proven basis. The veracity of Sh Sanjeev Gupta’s claim has been thoroughly checked by @DGCAIndia,” the ministry said.
“The fares offered on the Delhi-London sector (Economy class) range from 1.03-1.21 lakhs for Indian carriers and 1.28-1.47 lakhs for UK carriers for travel during August 2021,” it added in a subsequent tweet.
The problem was brought to light after Sanjeev Gupta, the secretary of the ministry of home affairs, expressed concern about the high costs of college admissions on Saturday.
“Fare of ₹3.95 lakh one way Delhi to London on Aug 26. No, it’s not 1st class. It’s economy on @British_Airways @airindiain @airvistara etc. also 1.2 to 2.3 lakh. College admission time! See minimum fare on @GoogleTravel in August. Have alerted Secretary @MoCA_GoI @JM_Scindia,” tweeted Gupta, sharing screenshots of the airfares.
Gupta’s tweet came as the UK moved India from the “red” to the “amber” list, allowing travellers to avoid hotel quarantine.
On Sunday, the DGCA requested information from airlines about the fares they charged for India-UK flights in August.
Since May 25, last year, India has imposed lower and upper limits on all domestic airfares, but no such limits have been imposed on international airfares.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 of last year.
However, under the air bubble agreements formed with 28 countries, including the United Kingdom, limited special international passenger flights have been operating since July 2020.
