Rethink aviation policy

Govt price caps are counter-productive

The government’s approach to the aviation sector in India has grown messy, confusing, and possibly counter-productive. Recently the director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) pointed out that government regulation was slowing the recovery in the sector from the second wave — both through capacity and pricing restrictions. In May 2021, according to the data from the IATA, domestic air travel in India was 71 per cent lower than in the equivalent month of 2019, before the pandemic hit. This was even worse than the 42 per cent decline registered in April 2021 over the equivalent month in 2019.