Civilian flight operations from the 32 airports across northern and western India, including Srinagar and Amritsar, were suspended from May 9 to May 15.
DGCA had earlier directed all airlines not to charge anything extra from passengers from Srinagar and Jammu.
Notwithstanding the sweltering heat engulfing major cities, travellers can find solace in the steady airfares to popular summer destinations like Srinagar, Bagdogra, and Kochi. According to airline executives, capacity increases and moderate demand have kept spot airfares from scorching cities like Delhi on a par with the same period last year.
Airfares on major domestic routes such as Kolkata-Bagdogra, Delhi-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Mumbai have witnessed an increase of up to 12.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in May this year, according to data by Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel. The recent increase in aviation turbine fuel prices, rupee depreciation, reduction of flights by key players, and grounding of planes due to engine supply issues have contributed to the rise in airfares, said aviation industry experts. However, the data also shows that summer airfares on key routes such as Delhi-Leh and Delhi-Kolkata have significantly decreased due to the introduction of new flights.
The federal agency started its operation in the morning, with around 100 officers mobilised to swoop down at the 30 locations in multiple cities of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, besides Delhi and Mumbai, the officials said.
The aviation regulator is investigating the incidents and both planes, with Pratt and Whitney engines, will fly only when cleared by it, the officials said.
This is the third incident of technical malfunction on a Go First aircraft in two days.
This is the third instance in the last three days when the aviation regulator grounded a plane after an incident.
The DGCA conducted the spot checks as there have been many technical malfunction incidents in Indian carriers' planes during the last 45 days.
The CBI after registering the FIRs carried out searches on Thursday morning at 14 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Trivandrum in Kerala and Darbhanga in Bihar, they said.
Specialists from the counter-terror drone wing of the NSG also demonstrated the functioning of its counter-UAS mechanism at the technical area of the IAF station, sources said.
Indian airlines on Wednesday began evacuating stranded people from flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir with Air India flying back 270 passengers free, as DGCA asked them to cap total fares including taxes on Srinagar-Delhi and Leh-Delhi sectors at Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,000 respectively.
They said stranded Indians in central Asia as well as in various European countries will be brought back home in the second phase of evacuation beginning May 15.
It said the decision will immediately benefit approximately 7.8 lakh paramilitary personnel of the ranks of constable, head constable and assistant sub-inspector who were otherwise not eligible earlier.
Kerala top the list of state-wise break-up of repatriation requests with 25,246, followed by 6,617 from Tamil Nadu and 4,341 from Maharashtra. A total of 3,715 people from Uttar Pradesh requested for evacuation, 3,320 from Rajasthan, 2,796 from Telangana and, 2,786 from Karnataka.
"We have decided to add new features to our convoy movement to and from Kashmir," CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar said.
To fill seats, airlines have resorted to fare wars following the adverse impact on ticket sales, reports Arindam Majumder.
Kingfisher Airlines has introduced a daily service between Delhi-Srinagar and Mumbai-Srinagar.
The recent decision of the Union government asking United Nations Military Observer Group on Kashmir to vacate a government-provided bungalow in New Delhi, is garnering mixed reactions in Kashmir. While many feel there would be no real impact if the UNMOGIP was to close its main offices in Srinagar, there are others who believe that the UN would continue to have a critical role till the Kashmir issue is resolved.
'The so-called separatists are representatives of Pakistan. They get paid from Islamabad for propagating that country's policy and conniving in her ploy of accession of Kashmir to Pakistan.'
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