NEW DELHI: Air travelers no longer have to pay extra to check-in at the airport counter. After a spate of complaints, the Air Ministry has urged airlines to stop collecting them immediately. The airlines charge a fee of around 200 rupees per passenger for this service.
However, at a time when record-high kerosene prices and record-low rupee-US dollar exchange rate have forced airlines to drastically increase fares, this comes as little relief to domestic passengers, who prefer to stand in snaking airport lines to do so to check -in instead of doing this online.
High jet fuel prices and a falling rupee have hampered the air travel recovery seen after the Omicron wave.
“The Air Ministry has been informed that airlines are charging additional fees for issuing boarding passes to passengers. This additional amount does not comply with the (Regulations). Amount for issuing boarding passes at the airport Check-in deskas this cannot be accounted for within the ‘tariff’ under Rule 135 of the Aircraft Regulations 1937,” the Air Ministry tweeted on Thursday.
Mandatory web check-in was one of the key conditions allowing regular domestic flights to resume after a two-month suspension from May 25, 2020.
The government had also introduced domestic fares at the time, which dictated the minimum and maximum fares airlines could charge for various domestic routes based on distance and flight time.
“It was a commercial decision by airlines to charge passengers checking in at airports. Now that the Ministry is deciding what can and cannot be charged (this should be a decision for the airlines), they must scrap the domestic fare strong devaluation of the rupee,” airline officials said.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s order, issued on Thursday, titled “No Additional Fees for Issuing Boarding Passes at Airline Counters,” said: “Referred to (May 2020 Domestic Flight Resumption Order) … which states that passengers need to make sure they check online – check in and get a boarding pass… Airlines (have been advised) to encourage, assist and guide passengers to check in online in good time and print baggage tags and penalties for passengers traveling who fail to do so online check in, minimize/avoid. ”
It went on to say that some airport check-in fees are “not consistent” with those rules.
“In view of this, airlines are advised not to charge an additional amount for issuing boarding passes at airport check-in counters, as this cannot be reflected in the ‘tariff’ according to the (rules),” it said.