Youth Congress urges Gaurav Gogoi to raise soaring Northeast airfares in Parliament

Indian Youth Congress (IYC) national general secretary Tarh Johny has urged Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi to raise the issue of soaring airfares and limited airline competition in the Northeast during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

In a representation addressed to Gogoi, with copies sent to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Johny said air travel in the Northeastern states is an essential mode of transport rather than a luxury because of the region's difficult terrain, limited railway connectivity and long road travel times.

Highlighting what he described as significant fare disparities, Johny pointed out that a non-stop 50-minute flight between Imphal and Guwahati was priced at Rs 11,687 on July 18, while a much longer 2-hour-40-minute non-stop flight from Imphal to New Delhi was available for Rs 10,525 on the same day.

"Such fare disparities have caused widespread concern among passengers and deserve careful examination by the authorities concerned," Johny said in the letter.

He also alleged that limited airline competition on regional routes has made air travel increasingly unaffordable, particularly for students, patients, businesspersons and families travelling during emergencies.

Johny said the issue affects people across Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, and called for parliamentary intervention to address the problem.

In his representation, the Youth Congress leader urged the Centre to conduct a comprehensive review of airfare trends in the region, direct the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to examine sudden fare spikes, encourage greater airline competition on Northeast routes, establish a transparent airfare monitoring mechanism and formulate a long-term policy to ensure equitable and affordable regional air connectivity.