Airfare ceiling in Thailand to be adjusted

BANGKOK, February 9 (TNA) - The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) will adjust its airfare ceiling for domestic flights to be in line with the current oil prices, after budget airlines have raised their domestic fares to reflect their rising costs from a recent increase in the excise tax imposed by the government. The move was announced after Police Major General Prasit Chalermwutthisak, Secretary-General of the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB), convened a meeting with CAAT officials, as well as representatives of international airlines operating domestic flights, including Thai Airways International (THAI), Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, THAI Smile, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet Air, in Bangkok on February 8, in response to a recent airfare rise by 150-200 baht per domestic ticket following the increased excise tax on jet fuel by 0.20 baht to 4 baht per litre as of January 25. The OCPB chief said the recent airfare rise has captured public attention and widely shared on social networks with comments on whether the domestic airfare rise was fair to consumers. The OCPB chief acknowledged that the increased airfares remain below the ceiling, imposed by CAAT when the global oil prices hovered around 130-140 US dollars per barrel. However, the OCPB chief told journalists that CAAT will look into the issue and adjust the ceiling in accordance with the current fuel prices, which now stands at about 70 US dollars per barrel, lower than the prices CAAT earlier used to set the airfare ceiling. (TNA)