Govt directs all airlines to strictly adhere to fare caps amid IndiGo crisis

New Delhi: Domestic flyers will now get some protection from volatile, last-minute ticket prices, with the government on Saturday imposing emergency fare caps across all domestic routes.

The caps, which apply to economy tickets, come into immediate effect and will stay on until fares stabilize or further reviews, according to the ministry of civil aviation.

The move comes amid a surge in flight cancellations—mostly from IndiGo—that has squeezed capacity and sent fares soaring on several busy sectors.

Airfares reached levels never seen before on Friday, with a one-way one-stop economy-class SpiceJet Kolkata-Mumbai flight ticket for December 6 costing up to ₹90,000, and a similar ticket of Air India for Mumbai-Bhubaneswar going up to ₹84,485, according to the airlines' websites, newswire PTI had reported.

Under the new order issued on 6 December, airlines cannot charge more than ₹7,500 for flights up to 500 km: for instance, a Delhi-Jaipur or Delhi-Lucknow, and Mumbai-Ahmedabad air routes, among others.

If the route length falls between 500 and 1,000 km, the fare cap is ₹12,000. This would cover some key sectors like Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Hyderabad, Delhi-Ahmedabad, and Delhi-Srinagar.

If the route is between 1,000 km and 1,500 km, the fares are capped at ₹15,000 bringing popular routes like Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Delhi, and Delhi-Pune, among others, under the ceiling.

The fare cap will be for ₹18,000 for routes above 1,500 km such as cross-country travel between Mumbai and Kolkata, Delhi and Kochi, and Delhi and Port Blair, to name a few such routes.

The fare caps are only for the economy class ticket bookings. They come into immediate effect.

These fare ceilings exclude user development fee (UDF), passenger service fees (PSF), and taxes, and will stay in force “until fares stabilize or till further review”, ministry of civil Aviation said in a statement. These fees and taxes add up to 20-40% of ticket prices depending on the airport, booking status (economy, premium or business class) and other factors.

In public interest, says aviation ministry

The ministry said it had stepped in “in public interest” after flight disruptions at one major carrier led to a sharp and unreasonable spike in fares on several routes.

"In order to protect passengers from any form of opportunistic pricing, the Ministry has invoked its regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes," the statement read.

IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, has cancelled over a thousand flights this week alone as pilot rosters buckled under a new crew rostering norms. On Friday, the fifth day of the current chaos, it cancelled 1,000 flights, nearly half its daily scheduled departures.

The cancellations led to a complete collapse of India’s aviation sector with several flights

IndiGo, whose 2,200 daily flights accounted for two-thirds of the country’s departures before this ongoing crisis, has said it will return to normalcy, at the latest by 15 December.

Importantly for passengers, the government has barred airlines from steep or unusual fare hikes, especially on routes hit by cancellations.

Carriers must also keep ticket inventory open across fare buckets, preventing them from closing cheaper categories to push up prices.

To ease the pain for stranded travellers, airlines have been instructed to offer maximum support, including alternate flight options wherever possible.

Sector regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been tasked with monitoring fares in real time and ensuring strict compliance, the ministry said.

The ministry of railways on Friday decided to increase 116 coaches in 37 premium trains as a means of alternative transportation for the convenience of stranded airline travellers, Livemint had earlier reported.

Notably, IndiGo was the first carrier to oppose new so-called flight duty time limitations, or FDTL, norms for pilots when they were introduced in January 2024, with a March implementation timeline.

The first, effective 1 July, mandated increasing pilots’ weekly rest to 48 hours and barred substituting pilots’ leave with weekly rest.

On Friday, DGCA rolled back this rule for all carriers after chaos unfolded at the country's airports with scores of cancelled Indigo flights lealving thousands of passengers stranded.

Under the new rules for the second phase, effective 1 November, an airline pilot could fly twice in a week between midnight and 6 am. Only IndiGo has been given extra time until 10 February to implement this rule; other airlines have to adhere to the ruling.

This rule means airlines must hire more pilots, as each can only fly two consecutive nights before resting.