After Jet, Indigo, Spicejet to charge for printing e-tickets

After Jet Airways, two low cost domestic carriers will now also charge passengers Rs. 50 to issue a copy of their e-tickets at the airport. From Saturday, Spicejet Airlines and Indigo Airlines will charge fliers for the service, which was free until now.

After Jet Airways, two low cost domestic carriers will now also charge passengers Rs. 50 to issue a copy of their e-tickets at the airport. From Saturday, Spicejet Airlines and Indigo Airlines will charge fliers for the service, which was free until now.

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The move is likely to affect several passengers because Jet Airways, Spicejet and Indigo Airlines together cater to almost 70% of the domestic passengers. "Most passengers collect e-ticket printouts from airports. It is a basic service that an airline can offer," said Anup Kanuga, owner Bathija Travels.

Indigo and Spicejet spokesperson refused to explain the reason behind the move. Two weeks ago, Jet Airways and its budget subsidiary Jetlite introduced the charges sparking off an avalanche of angry reactions from passengers.

Jet Airways had justified the move citing that it had to invest in manpower and infrastructure solely meant for passengers seeking printouts of e-tickets. The airline also claimed that the last minute pressure of giving printouts inconvenienced passengers buying tickets from the airline's airport counters.

The recent hike in service tax and metro airports levying a development fee has made air travel more expensive over last year.

Air travelers said that e-ticket printouts are being made redundant across the world with passengers merely having to show an image of the ticket on a smart phone. The government needs to address the root cause of the problem and switch to technology wherein a passenger need not show printouts to enter airports," said Milan Zatakia, national vice president with the Air Passengers' Association of India.