Amid Rising Airfares to Tripura, CM Biplab Deb Asks For Price Cap

Deb said the maximum airfare needs to be within “reasonable limits”, so that common people are not exploited.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/ The Quint)

Worried about spiralling air fare in the Kolkata-Agartala route, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has asked Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu to impose a cap on maximum airfare on any route within "reasonable limits."

In a letter to Prabhu the chief minister on Tuesday, 20 November said withdrawal of flight by some airlines has put people of Tripura into serious inconveniences.

“There is a sharp increase in airfares. The airfare from Agartala to Kolkata used to be around Rs 2,000 earlier, which has now shot up to Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000. In fact, on many occasions, tickets were not available at any price. As a result, even serious patients are not able to move out of Tripura...,” Deb told Prabhu.

A copy of the letter was with PTI.

In the letter, he mentioned that the airfare has risen as some airlines have reduced their service under mandatory obligation of 10 per cent operation in the north eastern states to six per cent.

Deb, in his letter, also requested the Union minister to make sure that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issues "appropriate directions" for capping the maximum airfare on any route in within "reasonable limits", so that common people are not exploited by the airlines.

After SpiceJet withdrew their flights from Agartala in September, only IndiGo and Air India operate flights from Tripura’s capital on a daily basis, Agartala airport sources said.