“It is aimed at giving passengers freedom from the stress of fluctuating airfares and promoting ease of flying in the country,” says civil aviation ministry. The Indian government has decided on a new initiative on airfares by offering a single, fixed ticket rate that remains constant regardless of booking date, the civil aviation ministry said on Monday, October 13. Union civil aviation minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu inaugurated what’s called the ‘Fare Se Fursat’ (‘freedom from fare stress’) scheme by the government-owned regional carrier, Alliance Air.
“It is aimed at giving passengers freedom from the stress of fluctuating airfares and promoting ease of flying in the country,” said the press release. Secretary, civil aviation, Samir Kumar Sinha, was at the launch event, as was the chairman of Alliance Air, Amit Kumar, and CEO Rajarshi Sen. ‘Fare se Fursat’ is being implemented on a pilot basis from October 13 to December 31, 2025, across select routes, to evaluate operational feasibility and passenger response.
The static fare system eliminates uncertainty and stress associated with fluctuating airfares, ensuring predictability of costs, even for last-minute bookings. Speaking at the launch, the minister said, “The scheme perfectly aligns with the core principles of the UDAN scheme.” He was referring to the ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik’ (‘Let the commmon man faly’) scheme of the Narendra Modi government.
He said Alliance Air is carrying forward PM Modi’s vision of “democratising aviation and making it affordable for the middle class, lower-middle class and neo-middle class”. He listed other passenger-centric launches, such as the Udan Yatri Cafes offering tea for ₹10, coffee for ₹20 and snacks for ₹20 at airports. “It is making air travel more dignified and affordable. Now we are taking a step further and addressing the major concern of passengers which is the airfare,” he said.
Naidu termed Alliance Air the backbone of the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, connecting Tier-2 and -3 cities to the national aviation network. “Alliance Air has taken a bold and exemplary step with the idea of One Route, One Fare,” he said. India’s aviation market generally operates on a dynamic pricing model, where ticket prices vary in real time based on demand, seasonality and competition. It often causes passenger frustration due to unpredictable last-minute fares, the release added.
The initiative is also expected to encourage first-time flyers from smaller towns to opt for air travel. Alliance Air currently connects 59 destinations within India and one international destination, from Chennai to Jaffna in Sri Lanka, with 137 departures per day, its website says. It has a fleet of 18 ATR72-600 aircraft that carry 72 passengers each; two ATR42-600 (passenger capacity of 48), and one Dornier Do-228 (passengers: 17). Its destinations include towns and cities such as Bhubaneshwar, Bhuj, Diu, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Jabalpur, Kullu, Rourkela, Shimla, Silchar and Tirupati. Routes such as Bhubaneshwar to Rourkela, Delhi-Shimla, Hyderabad-Tirupati and Kolkata-Guwahati are served by the airlines.
