Centre says airlines free to fix fares: Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that while he has asked the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to curb the rise in air fares, the Centre said the airlines are free to fix ticket prices with the repeal of the Air Corporation Act, 1994, and de-regulation of air fares.

The Chief Minister's submission came in response to a query by CPI(M) MLA from Thrikaripur M Rajagopalan during the third session of the State Assembly that has commenced.

During the sitting, Vijayan said he has asked the various airlines and the Civil Aviation Ministry to take steps for increasing the air services and number of seats on flights.

On the issue of the high cost of RT-PCR tests being conducted at airports for passengers, which was also raised by Rajagopalan, the Chief Minister said that by a government order dated September 8, the fee for rapid RT-PCR was fixed at Rs 2,490.

The result of the rapid RT-PCR test would be available in just over an hour compared to the normal RT-PCR and its cost was high as the cartridge used for the former was priced around Rs 2,000, he said.

However, the passengers can opt for the test suiting their budget in accordance with the COVID- testing regulations of the countries they are travelling to, he added.