New Delhi, June 11: KC Venugopal, a senior Congress leader, took to Twitter to express his concerns about the skyrocketing airfares in India and criticized the government’s handling of the situation. He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s previous statement about “Hawai Chappals” (slippers) and “Hawai Jahaaz” (airplanes), stating that the current airfare rates make Modi’s words seem like a cruel joke.
Venugopal pointed out that the exorbitant airfares are causing havoc among the middle class and blamed the government’s favoritism towards airlines and its aggressive privatization approach for the dire state of affairs. He called on the Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) to confront some hard facts regarding the issue.
Firstly, Venugopal criticized the government for removing the caps on airfares in August 2022, considering the struggling state of the economy. He deemed it criminal to allow such a move.
Secondly, he questioned the government’s lack of strategy to address the significant decline in the number of flights operated, especially with the collapse of Go First and SpiceJet operating minimal routes.
Venugopal also highlighted the impact of pricing algorithms on airfares, emphasizing that a high demand-supply mismatch would continuously drive prices upward. He demanded clarity on the government’s intervention plans to control these escalating airfares.
Furthermore, he raised concerns about whether private airport operators, particularly Adani with its substantial investment in airports, were profiting at the expense of the common man.
Venugopal criticized the Ministry’s apparent apathy towards people’s suffering, citing the out-of-control flight prices from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata during the Balasore train tragedy. He questioned why the Ministry allowed this to happen.
Lastly, he addressed the burden of taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and urged the government to ensure that airlines do not pass on the high costs to consumers.
Overall, Venugopal’s Twitter statement underscored his concerns about the surging airfares in India and criticized the government’s handling of the situation, calling for concrete measures to address the issue.
