Air travel might not become cheaper after all

Earlier today, the Civil Aviation Ministry today proposed a raft of measures to boost regional air connectivity. But air travel is likely to become expensive with the government’s proposal of 2 percent levy on all domestic and international tickets to raise funds for the execution of the new plans in line.

The proposal, part of the elaborate and revised National Civil Aviation Policy, is to be implemented from January 2016.

"RCF (Regional Connectivity Fund) will be funded by a levy of 2 per cent on all domestic and international tickets from January 1, 2016 onwards under...the Aircraft Act 1934. The RCF levy will be applied on all routes other than Cat IIA routes and RCS routes," as per the draft policy.

SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh told PTI that imposition of cess would not be making a "big difference" in airfares and the two per cent levy would help in improving regional connectivity.

Though IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh apprehended air fares to rise due to this move, he added, "If the money collected from cess is invested back in the airport infrastructure like air traffic management and ground handling, then we will definitely see fares coming down."

(Image credits: cliparts)