Parliament proceedings | 'Crests and troughs' in aviation sector: Scindia

The Minister also said that Amritsar and Chandigarh together have 42 air traffic movements internationally, including 33 in Amritsar and nine in Chandigarh

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that the industry has "crests and troughs" and air ticket pricing depends on seasons but passengers can benefit from booking in advance.

The Minister also said that Amritsar and Chandigarh together have 42 air traffic movements internationally, including 33 in Amritsar and nine in Chandigarh, and expressed confidence that whenever Indian carriers will expand, Punjab will be a very key element of that.

Replying to supplementaries, the Minister said the civil aviation sector is a deregulated sector and the government does not have control over route expansions as it depends on airlines.

On high ticket pricing especially during the festive season, the minister said it is extremely important to understand that the civil aviation sector is a seasonal industry.

"There are crests and there are troughs. When festive season starts in October all the way up to February is the high season of civil aviation and you then get into a little bit of a medium lull situation and then the trough, which is the monsoon season is really a wipe out season in terms of civil aviation...Because of seasonality factors there will be pricing differences," the Minister told the House during Question Hour.

He said one also has to understand that the sector has gone through possibly the worst time for any industry in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was the only industry where our planes were on the tarmac for almost 18 to 24 months and the very fact that we have experienced a V-shaped recovery speaks great volumes of the resoluteness of our carriers and the capability to supply that service to the common man," the Minister said.