NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the frequent sharp hikes in airfares, especially during peak travel times and when someone has to buy a ticket on short notice to travel for an emergency. In a meeting with the aviation ministry top brass on Tuesday, the PM spoke extensively on the issue of predatory pricing and asked the officials present there to find a solution to this problem.
“It (predatory pricing) is a concern of a majority of Parliamentarians, including the Prime Minister, and needs to be addressed. The PM has shown his concern over the predatory pricing issue. Airlines need to reduce fares and not hike them particularly when it comes to emergency travel like in medical emergency,” minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma said at an aviation meet organized by Assocham here on Thursday.
“There could be three approaches to prevent predatory pricing . We will take the airlines into confidence and tell them that the practice (of predatory pricing) is giving a bad name to the industry. A mechanism can also be there through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or through national carrier Air India,” Sharma added.
