Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha highlighted several issues faced by passengers travelling by flight, emphasising high airfares burdening common people. He spoke in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion on the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak-2024. He also expressed concern over the predatory pricing and duopoly in the aviation sector. Raising questions on the success of the UDAN scheme, he emphasised the shutdown of several airlines, which he said is undermining its goal of affordable travel.
Chadha also pointed out the long queues, poor services, and overpriced food at the airports. He said that airports have become worse than bus stops, as overcrowding often leads to long queues, due to which passengers miss their flights.
The AAP MP asserted that many tourist destinations in the country lack airports and thus have poor connectivity. Highlighting disparities in airfare, he compared fares to the Maldives, which are comparatively lower than to Lakshadweep. He said that the disparity is affecting domestic tourism.
As one of the prime reasons to choose flight travel is to save time, Chadha said that passengers pay for expensive tickets to save time, but for flights in smaller cities, the flights are often delayed by 3 to 4 hours.
Notably, a bill to replace the Aircraft Act, 1934, with the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024, to enable ease of doing business and to provide for manufacture and maintenance in the aviation sector was moved for passing in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The bill seeks to provide for the design, manufacture, and maintenance of aircraft and related equipment, empower the Central Government to regulate the issuance of Radio Telephone Operator (Restricted) Certificates and Licences to provide for ease of business, and make rules to implement the Convention relating to international civil aviation and the other matters relating to civil aviation security.
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