"When two people take an auto-rickshaw they pay a fare of Rs 10 which means they're charged Rs 5 per kilometer but when you go by air you are charged Rs 4 per kilometer," the civil aviation minister said.
NEW DELHI: Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha on Monday said that on a per kilometre-basis for long-distance travels, an air ticket costs less than an auto rickshaw ride, reported news agency ANI.
Speaking at the inaugural event of the new domestic terminal building of Gorakhpur Airport, he said, "Today airfare is less than that of an auto-rickshaw. You will ask how is that possible? When two people take an auto-rickshaw they pay a fare of Rs 10 which means they're charged Rs 5 per kilometre but when you go by air you are charged Rs 4 per kilometre."
Indian airlines want the government to tweak its move to allow flyers to cancel tickets without any fee. The aviation ministry in May had proposed a full refund — without any cancellation charge — for flyers cancelling domestic air tickets within 24 hours of booking a flight that is at least four days away.
Clarifying on his comment, Sinha said on Tuesday, "I do not imply by any means that you should take an airplane for short distances. It's just to emphasise that if you compare airfares to other modes of transport, they are quite affordable."
Sinha assured that soon budget carrier IndiGo would launch around 5 to 10 flights from Gorakhpur to nearby cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Allahabad.
"In a large country like ours, to travel from Gorakhpur-Mumbai or Gorakhpur-Bangalore, air travel becomes the preferred means of transport because they are very affordable, very convenient and safe making India's value proposition for air travel strong," Sinha said.
Sinha further said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the aviation sector has seen maximum development, adding that the number of people commuting via airplane has increased two-folds in 2018.
"Till 2013, approximately only six crore people were traveling in flights, but now the figures have improved. At present, as many as 12 crore people residing across the country are using airlines as a mode of transport. Earlier there were only 75 airports but today there are as many as 100 airports which are operational all over India," he added.