'Air Fares in India Cheaper Than That of Autorickshaws', Claims MoS Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha
Making air commutation affordable for the middle class has been one of the agendas of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
New Delhi, Sept 4: Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha reiterated the claim that air fares in India are now cheaper than the cost levied on passengers travelling by autorickshaws.
Explaining his remark, Sinha said the three-wheeler costs approximately Rs 10 per km in the national capital. If two people are travelling on the same autorickshaw, they pay Rs 5 each for a kilometre-long commute. On the other hand, he pointed, the domestic carriers charge Rs 4 per km.
"Today airfare is less than that of an autorickshaw. You'll ask how is that possible? When two people take an autorickshaw, they pay fare of Rs 10 which means they're charged Rs 5 per km. But when you go by air you are charged Rs 4 per km," Sinha said on Monday.
Making air commutation affordable for the middle class has been one of the agendas of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. In February this year, Sinha claimed, the number of air commuters in the nation had clocked to 11 crore, which the government wants to increase upto 20 crore by the end of the current fiscal.
While presenting the Budget for 2018-19, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had reiterated that the government, through a business-friendly approach, has succeeded to bring down the air fares to an extent that "one with slippers can also fly in aeroplane".
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2018 08:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).