'Shocking, Ill-Informed': Scindia Hits Back At Congress Leader Over Concerns Of 'Soaring Airfares'

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia hit out at senior Congress leader KC Venugopal for his remarks on the airfares "skyrocketing".

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia responded to senior Congress leader KC Venugopal for his "skyrocketing airfares" remark by terming it as "ill-informed" and "shocking". Venugopal hit out at the Centre saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement of people wearing Hawai chappals (slippers) can now travel in airplanes sounds like a "cruel joke". While responding to it, the Union Minister said that the Indian economy continues to be a beacon of hope at a time when the global economy is struggling.

In a series of tweets, Venugopal questioned whether the government had any intervention planned to check airfares. He tweeted, "These skyrocketing airfares are creating havoc among the middle class. The government's complete free pass to the airlines, coupled with their rampant privatisation spree, is responsible for the dire situation today. The @MoCA_GoI must confront some hard facts."

Scindia pointed out that the government has advised airlines to self-regulate their fares. "As former Minister of State for Civil Aviation, it is highly shocking that @kcvenugopalmp Ji has made such undiscerning & ill-informed remarks on the aviation sector. We have advised airlines to self-regulate their fares under a certain limit - the result of which is that prices have come down by 14%- 60% since 6th June 2023," he wrote.

Scindia said that the aviation sector has truly been democratised under PM Modi's leadership. 

While responding to a point raised by Venugopal on why the Aviation ministry allowed flight prices from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata to soar high amid the Balasore train tragedy, the Aviation Minister said, "Within 24 hours of the Odisha incident, an advisory was sent by MoCA to all airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar. In a separate high-level meet, airlines were advised to keep a tight check on the pricing of air tickets, especially in times of calamity".

Venugopal also asked, "With Go First collapsing, and with SpiceJet barely flying any routes, why did the government have no strategy to correct this massive dip in the number of flights being flown?"

According to Scindia, "A portion of the routes that were earlier being served by GoFirst have already been allotted to other airlines".

The Aviation Minister said that the Congress leader has "chosen to turn a blind eye" to the "immense growth" that the sector has witnessed since 2014. "Passenger count which stood at 122 million in 2014 is currently at 280 million - a jump of 130%! Under UDAN, we have operationalised 475 routes and flown over 116.06 Lakh passengers," Scindia said.