In a press release yesterday, the chamber said the fare hike was bound to slow down the development process in the northeast as also give the private airlines an edge in operations.
Indian Airlines is the only carrier to fly to all the eight centres in the northeast zone - Agartala, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Guwahati, Jorhat, Imphal, Silchar and Tezpur.
The release said the hike was a major setback as the United Front government had recently set up a task force headed by the director-general of tourism to promote economic development in the region. In this context, air travel assumed special significance, it said.
The chamber stated that despite having to work under various constraints and official interventions, the fare hike was unrealistic in terms of the competition it faces.
The new fare came into effect from 22 September and authorities have been justified on the ground that the airline had to balance the increased cost of aircraft turbine oil and other input costs.
The chamber contended Indian Airlines make efforts to meet the high expenses with greater operational efficiency, improving passenger facilities and adopting safety measures which, it said, would have effectively countered competition from other airlines.
The total earnings from tourism in the current fiscal is expected to exceed Rs 10,000 crore. The chamber said Indian Airlines needed to review its policies as it was expected to play a crucial role in opening up Indian tourism to the world.
