Panel asks govt to stop indiscriminate airfare hikes

A Parliamentary committee has asked the government to stop airlines from indiscriminately hiking fairs and causing severe inconvenience to passengers.

The Estimates Committee, which presented its report to Lok Sabha on Thursday, also called for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the newly formed Civil Aviation Economic Regulatory Commission to devise measures to ensure proper compliance of directives by various scheduled airlines to prevent harassment of passengers. The committee has expressed serious concern on the sustainability of the aviation industry, especially in the wake of the heavy sales tax on aviation turbine fuel which is threatening to upset the sector’s growth.

It has asked the civil aviation ministry to take up the tax related issues with the ministry of finance on a priority basis and work out simplification of the tax regime. The committee has called on the national carrier to judiciously review its expenses and cut down on needless expenditure.