The fares of flights are going to increase very soon as the government has taken the decision to levy up to Rs 8,500/flight on all the major routes such as New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The increase in price of the ticket will depend on the number of tickets booked in that flight.
The levy will be up to Rs 8,500 depending upon the distance covered by the flight. This step is being taken by the government in order to arrange funds for regional connectivity scheme. However this Rs 8500 tax is per flight and not per passenger.
Government’s ambitious scheme – UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) will aim on connecting the small cities by flights. What’s more, it will also look to make flying in reach of common public. Government is making the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) for UDAN and as per estimates; Rs 400 crore will be collected with this levy for RCF.
In the words of Civil Aviation Secretary, R N Choubey,
“The levy for an up to 1,000 kilometre length of scheduled flight will be Rs 7,500 per flight, Rs 8,000 for a 1,000 to 1,500 kilometre flight and Rs 8,500 for flights above 1,500 kilometre.”
Choubey further added,
“In addition to this, another 20 percent (funding) will come from state governments. We are roughly looking at around Rs 500 crore per year available in the kitty.”
This funding will definitely increase the fares of flights to a little extent but at the same time, it will also provide for capping the fare of half of the seats of the flights which will come under UDAN, at Rs 2,500 for one hour duration. The flights covering the distance of 476-500 kilometers will only get this capping.
For the fixed-wing aircraft, the limit of RCS fare will range between Rs 1,420 and Rs 3,500 while for half an hour ride in helicopter, passengers will need to pay Rs 2,500 and for one-hour duration, charges will be Rs 5,000.
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