Irrational airfare: Tripura minister seeks upper cap

  • Tripura Tribune Desk
  • Sep 20, 2024

Agartala, Sept 20: Transport Minister of Tripura Sushanta Chowdhury has made a strong appeal to the central government for regulating airfare on crucial routes and launching flight operation from Kailashahar airport in the state.

In two letters addressed to Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Chowdhury stressed for fare cap on flights operating between Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Guwahati, as well as the introduction of small aircraft services from Kailashahar Airport.

Chowdhury raised concerns over the current airfares on the Agartala-Kolkata route, stating that ticket prices, which range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000 for a short 327-km distance, are unreasonably high. With the festive season approaching, he opined that fares might increase even further, putting additional strain on the people of Tripura.

He also pointed out that the issue of exorbitant airfares had been a subject of discussion in the recent session of Tripura Legislative Assembly. Despite the state's efforts to support the aviation sector, Chowdhury noted that the benefits are not being passed on to travelers. 

In November 2021, Tripura reduced VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel from 16 percent to 1 percent, hoping to make air travel more affordable on key routes like Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Guwahati. However, airlines appear to be using this tax reduction to expand services to other cities, such as Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, rather than prioritizing the North Eastern routes, Chowdhury noted. 

He urged the Union Minister of Civil Aviation to intervene and set an upper limit on fares for flights connecting Tripura with cities like Kolkata and Guwahati.

In a separate request, the Transport Minister proposed the introduction of 17-19 seater aircraft for flight operation from Kailashahar Airport. Chowdhury specifically recommended granting Letters of Authorization (LoA) to airlines such as Alliance Air and FlyBig, which could operate these small aircraft, providing much-needed connectivity to Kailashahar in the first phase of this project.