New Delhi: Putting "floors and caps" on airfares will push the ticket prices higher as competition among airlines has kept the fares lower, Union Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Tuesday.

The Civil Aviation Minister's remarks assume significance against the backdrop of concerns in certain quarters that at times airlines are charging exorbitant prices for tickets. Last year, there were demands from various quarters, including Parliamentarians, to put in a mechanism to contain steep fluctuations in airfares.