Speaking on the sidelines of the FICCI’s International Conference in Civil Aviation: ‘India: The Emerging Aviation Hub’, Mr. Praful Patel, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said “The huge increase in prices by some airlines in recent times was totally inappropriate and arbitrary. Under the law, the strictest action would be taken if no corrective action is taken by the erring airlines.”  He said that airlines need to keep the fares under a price band.

“You can’t go on a free run. That is unfair to the passengers and it would be our effort to try to bring discipline in the aviation sector.” He said the DGCA has sought information on this account from the airlines and will discuss with them the price bands within which they would have to operate. “This price band of low and high prices must be put up on their websites for the convenience of the passengers,” he said, adding that the airlines cannot charge whatever they wished at the last minute at the expense of the passenger. 

Addressing the conference, Mr. Patel said that the government wanted the airlines to grow rapidly and profitably. With the total pie having become larger – some 50 million passengers travelled in the domestic sector this year – from 15 million a year ago, all airlines can pool their resources to avoid creation of multiple facilities. India, he said, was poised to become a hub for all civil aviation facilities because of the availability of a critical mass that would make aviation activities economically viable. In view of the projected increase in traffic growth, he said, India needed more airports across the country and more airports within a metropolitan region. 

Mr. Yashwant S Bhave, Chairperson, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), in his address, emphasized the need for self-regulation in terms of standards and suggested that organizations such as FICCI come up with suggestions on what is a fair rate of return on equity, traffic forecast and the quality of service parameters from the consumers’ perspective. He said that India was ideally suited for becoming an aviation hub because of the time zone and its geographical location and favorable logistics – availability of land and cargo for movement.

Mr. Dinesh Keskar, Chairman, FICCI Civil Aviation Committee and President, Boeing- India, stated that the Indian aviation market had grown by 16% in October this year and was today the ninth largest civil aviation market. The centre of gravity in civil aviation, he said, was moving towards India and China because of the huge population and a burgeoning middle class in both countries. This, he said will spell even higher growth in civil aviation services.