New Delhi:

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has hit out at senior Congress chief KC Venugopal for his sharp remarks over “skyrocketing airfares”, calling it “ill-informed” and stunning”.

Lashing out at the BJP-led Central  government, KC Venugopal had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that people wearing hawai chappals (slippers) can now travel in aeroplanes, sounds like a “merciless joke”.

In a point-wise rebuttal, Mr Scindia said the Indian economy continues to stand as a beacon of hope at a time when the global economy continues to struggle.

In a series of tweets, the Congress leader had highlighted six points and questioned whether the government had any intervention planned to check airfares.

“These skyrocketing airfares are creating havoc among the many center class. The authorities’s full free move to the airways, coupled with their rampant privatisation spree, is answerable for the dire scenario immediately. The @MoCA_GoI have to confront some onerous info,” tweeted KC Venugopal.

In his response, Mr Scindia said the government has advised airlines to self-regulate their fares.

“As former Minister of State for Civil Aviation, it’s extremely stunning that @kcvenugopalmp Ji has made such undiscerning & ill-informed remarks on the aviation sector. We have suggested airways to self-regulate their fares underneath a sure restrict – the results of which is that costs have come down by 14%- 60% since sixth June 2023,” Mr Scindia tweeted.

In another point flagged by the Congress leader, Mr Scindia said the sector has been truly democratised under the leadership of PM Modi.

Regarding Mr Venugopal’s question on why the ministry allowed flight prices from Bhubaneswar and Kolkata to go out of control when the Balasore train tragedy took place, he said: “Again, I want to replace you that inside 24 hours of the Odisha incident, an advisory was despatched by MoCA to all airways to watch any irregular surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar. In a separate high-level meet, airways had been suggested to maintain a decent test on the pricing of air tickets, particularly in occasions of calamity”.

“With Go First collapsing, and with SpiceJet barely flying any routes, why did the federal government haven’t any technique to appropriate this huge dip within the variety of flights being flown?” Mr Venugopal had also asked.

Mr Scindia said, “A portion of the routes that had been earlier being served by GoFirst have already been allotted to different airways”.

“Also, you have got chosen to show a blind eye to the immense development that this sector has witnessed since 2014. Passenger rely which stood at 122 million in 2014 is presently at 280 million – a leap of 130%! Under UDAN, now we have operationalised 475 routes and flown over 116.06 Lakh passengers,” he added.