Chann
VIP
The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for not implementing its December 17, 2012, order, restraining airlines from charging passengers with transaction fee. The transaction fee, between `225 and `6,500 per ticket in domestic and international sectors, was introduced in July last year. The court said the transaction fee should not be collected from passengers in any form or under any other name.
Regretting that the fee is still being imposed despite categorical prohibition to do so, a bench of justices DK Jain and Madan B Lokur said the DGCA failed to enforce its own direction. “The non-compliance of direction needs our immediate attention. The airlines cannot charge transaction fee from customers,” it said.
The apex court directed the DGCA to examine the tariff structure of airlines which has a wide range of base price. “There are several bands for fixing the base price which in certain cases range from `1,120 to `3,600. This must be looked into by DGCA,” the bench said.
Regretting that the fee is still being imposed despite categorical prohibition to do so, a bench of justices DK Jain and Madan B Lokur said the DGCA failed to enforce its own direction. “The non-compliance of direction needs our immediate attention. The airlines cannot charge transaction fee from customers,” it said.
The apex court directed the DGCA to examine the tariff structure of airlines which has a wide range of base price. “There are several bands for fixing the base price which in certain cases range from `1,120 to `3,600. This must be looked into by DGCA,” the bench said.
