'DGCA has no authority to control airfares'

Airfares are determined by market forces and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has no authority to control them, a top official has said.

Airfares are determined by market forces and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has no authority to control them, a top official has said.

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Speaking at an event here, DGCA Director General Bharat Bhushan also said that capacity constraints at major airports, coupled with increased Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) costs, are putting pressure on airline companies.

"I am afraid tariff is a function of demand and supply and unless there is an extraordinary hike in fares, we will not be able to tell them that this is wrong. We have persuasive powers. But we have no authority to control fares," Bhushan told mediapersons on the sidelines of the GMR Aviation Security Summit, which concluded here yesterday.

He said the DGCA has an Aviation Tariff Monitoring Cell, through which it brought in a system of requiring the airlines to submit their fare structures.