(MENAFN- Live Mint) Following reports of soaring airfares and government notification on ticket prices, Air India clarified that since December 4, economy class airfares on non-stop domestic flights have been capped to manage pricing.

“Air India & Air India Express clarify that, since 4 December, economy class airfares on non-stop domestic flights have been proactively capped to prevent the usual demand-and-supply mechanism being applied by revenue management systems," an Air India spokesperson said.

“We are aware of screenshots of last-minute itineraries with one-stop or two-stop flights or a combination of economy and premium economy or business cabins taken from third-party platforms. It is not technically possible to cap all such permutations, but we are engaging such platforms to exercise oversight,” the statement read.

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The airline also plans to add more capacity amid a shortage of flights due to the IndiGo crisis, when several flights were cancelled and delayed.

“Air India and Air India Express are seeking to add capacity to help travellers and their baggage reach their destinations as quickly as possible,” the airline spokesperson noted.

IndiGo crisis

The statement comes after several IndiGo flights were cancelled and delayed, while airfares of other airlines skyrocketed.

The country largest airline, IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights in the last five days, primarily due to crew shortages and with fewer operational flights, airfares on some routes increased significantly.

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On Friday, airfares for different airlines soared, with a one-way, one-stop economy class SpiceJet flight from Kolkata to Mumbai on December 6 costing as much as ₹90,000. Similarly, an Air India ticket for the Mumbai-Bhubaneswar route touched ₹84,485, reported PTI.

Government directive on capping airfares

Following such surging airfares, the government issued directions to all airlines on Saturday, November 6, to strictly adhere to fare caps“until the situation fully stabilises."

The Ministry of Civil Aviation in a statement on Saturday said it has taken serious note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines amid current operational disruptions.

"In order to protect passengers from any form of opportunistic pricing, the Ministry has invoked its regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes," the statement read.

The ministry further informed that an official directive has been issued to all airlines mandating strict adherence to the fare caps that have now been prescribed.

"These caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilises," it said.

The ministry noted that the goal of the directive is to maintain pricing discipline in the market, prevent any exploitation of passengers in distress, and ensure that citizens who urgently need to travel, including senior citizens, students, and patients, who should not be subjected to financial issues during this period.

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