No capacity restriction for domestic flights from October 18

No capacity restriction for domestic flights from October 18

Saurabh Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:13,10.2021 

Airlines will be allowed to operate as many scheduled domestic flights as they did in pre-pandemic times from October 18. The aviation ministry on Tuesday decided to lift variable capacity deployment ceilings in place since May 25, 2020, when domestic operations resumed after a two-month suspension. While they restarted at onethird of the March 2020 level, domestic schedules are currently at 85% of that. The festive season will now see more flights well before Diwali.

Apart from following Covid protocol, the domestic side now has two restrictions in form of minimum and maximum fare caps that continue along with no serving or selling of meals on less than twohour journeys. Bleeding flight caterers, however, have requested this curb to be lifted too, urgently.

The travel industry is hoping that with the government allowing foreign tourists on charters from this Friday and on non-charters from next month, scheduled international flights are allowed to partially resume at least to and from places where Covid is in control.

The aviation ministry’s Tuesday order said: “After review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations (and) passenger demand for air travel... it has been decided to restore scheduled domestic air operations with effect from October 18, 2021, without any capacity restriction. The airlines/airport operators shall, however, ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of Covid are strictly adhered to and Covid-appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced by them during the travel.”

EASE IN RESTRICTIONS