DGCA reschedules meeting on airfares at 4 PM today

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been flip-flopping regarding a meeting with airlines on rising airfares. After cancelling the meeting earlier on Tuesday, the aviation regulator has now called for the meeting at 4 PM, said sources.

The regulator had previously summoned the airlines to its office at noon today, but earlier in the day called it off. Then around 1:30 PM, the airlines were informed that the meeting has been reinstated for 4 PM.

The meeting is to be chaired by joint director general of DGCA, J S Rawat.

Airfares have seen a sharp rise, especially across key metro routes, with the latest trigger being the groundings of 12 Boeing 737 MAX planes of SpiceJet following safety concerns in the aircraft model in the aftermath of Ethiopian Air crash.

A rigorous check of data from aircraft tracking website Flightradar24, airline websites and company officials showed that of a total fleet of 668 planes spread across nine carriers, 107 aircraft have remained inactive at least since March 14. The reasons for inactive planes range from financial crisis for some to maintenance for others.

Jet Airways, the 26-year-old airline, finds itself at the top of the inactive fleet chart with 59 planes out of service. The severely beleaguered airline is currently running only 53 planes, almost 45% of its total fleet of 119 planes.

IndiGo also continues to face commander shortage problem, leading to almost 30 cancellations a day, while Mumbai airport closure is also capping flight movements from and to Mumbai.