Delhi-Dubai Cheaper Than Delhi-Kullu: When Will Airfares Fall?

Thanks to exorbitant airfares in India, you can now fly to some international locations for less money than what you need for some domestic routes. For example, a Delhi-Kullu ticket costs around 25,000 while you need half of that, around 11,000 to fly from Delhi to Dubai. Despite airlines expanding their fleet and the total number of airports doubling from 2014 to 2023, airfares have been soaring. Since September 2022, when the government removed the cap on airfares that were imposed during the pandemic in 2020, airfares have been skyrocketing. The prices are exorbitant even though the Government has intervened. Prices have been falling after Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia met airlines representatives on June 5 and asked them to self-regulate prices. Despite the recent fall, prices are still much higher than the pre-pandemic levels. On Breaking Views, we discuss what are the reasons for India's airfare hike, whether there's a risk of a duopoly, and what are the sustainable solutions to bring relief to consumers.