India adds more flights to UK after outrage over exorbitant fares

THERE will be more flights between India and the UK from today (16) as India's Ministry of Civil Aviation has increased the frequency from 30 to 60 per week.

Passengers travelling between Delhi and London may expect to pay pre-pandemic fares in the coming weeks after Eastern Eye reported last week of inflated one-way prices following a peak in demand.

Of the 30 additional flights, 26 will be operated by Air India, and the remaining four will be operated by Vistara, Times Travel said on Friday (13).

The decision comes days after outrage over exorbitant airfares from major Indian cities to the UK, with Delhi-London fares at more than treble the normal price. 

Reports of the fare hike made headlines after an official at India’s home ministry, Sanjeev Gupta, last Saturday (7) posted on social media that an economy-class one-way ticket on British Airways’ Delhi-London flight for August 26 was touching almost £4,000.

However, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation denied the official’s claims, insisting instead that the fare during August ranged between £980 and £1,360, which was still more than double that of pre-pandemic fares.

Passengers travelling from India to the UK have been asked to check fares on airline websites after it emerged that a one-way ticket to London in economy ranged between £980 and £1,360 as compared to  £500 and £780 in normal times.

Vistara, one of the four carriers between India and the UK, told Eastern Eye at the time that there were only 15 flights a week allowed currently on the India-UK route for Indian carriers and “when there is relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices”.

Inflated prices were also attributed to the “pent-up demand” as the UK moved India to the amber list from the red list, as passengers who booked their tickets on the lowest-costing economy seats got seats on almost all regular flights from India to the UK.

Scheduled flights have been banned since the outbreak of the pandemic last year, but some international flights have been operating under the air bubble arrangement. India currently has an air bubble arrangement with 28 countries. This will continue until regular flights resume.