With the continued disruption and cancellation of Kingfisher Airlines’ flights triggering increase in airfares and causing “harassment” to the passengers, the Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Mr Parimal Nathwani, on Wednesday demanded strong action against the erring airlines.

Mr Nathwani, who is also Group President of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said the airlines should be allowed to increase fares on the modest margin but they cannot take passengers for granted. “It is high time the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) take strong action against erring airlines,” he said in a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Ajit Singh.

Expressing anguish over airlines taking advantage of the situation, he said that despite a warning from the civil aviation regulator, fares on main routes have even doubled causing huge inconvenience to the passengers. The low-cost tickets are also no longer available since Kingfisher started cancelling its flights, he said in a statement released here.

Mr Nathwani demanded a better control and monitoring system so that such happenings were avoided and airlines refrained from taking passengers for a price-ride even during festival and holiday seasons.

Seeking strong intervention of DGCA, he asked for corrective action to prevent the airlines from taking advantage of the situation and adding to the misery of the passengers.

He requested the Minister to take steps at the earliest so that the fares were brought to a reasonable level, and suggested that a special regulatory authority be constituted to monitor price structures from time to time on various routes on the line of one in sectors like power, gas and telephones.

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