As per a senior official, upon discovering the extreme rise in airfares between India and the United Kingdom (UK), aviation regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has demanded the airlines to submit details about the flight prices.
On August 7, Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary at Union Home Ministry had taken the matter on Twitter where he uploaded screenshots of flights tickets priced at ₹3.95 lakh. Gupta had alerted Union Civil Aviation Secretary P. S. Kharola about the entire issue.
Fare of ₹ 3.95 lakh one way Delhi to London on Aug 26. No, it's not 1st class. It's economy on @British_Airways. @airindiain @airvistara etc. also 1.2 to 2.3 lakh. College admission time! See minimum fare on @GoogleTravel in August. Have alerted Secretary @MoCA_GoI. @JM_Scindia pic.twitter.com/uxFF8dgaLk
— Sanjeev Gupta (@sanjg2k1) August 7, 2021
According to Press Trust of India (PTI), Vistara, which currently has been operating on the routes of Delhi-London and Mumbai-London stated today, “Pricing is always a function of supply and demand. There are only 15 flights a week allowed allowed currently on India-UK route for Indian carriers and when there is a relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices.”
Earlier, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had stated that countries including India would be moved from the red list to the amber list and the changes would be implemented from August 8 at 4 in the morning.
He further added, “While it’s right we continue our cautious approach, it’s great news to open more destinations for people wanting to connect with families, friends and businesses across the globe, all thanks to our successful domestic vaccination programme.”