Even as chaos continues at several major airports due to the mass cancellation of IndiGo flights, the government on Saturday directed all airlines to strictly adhere to the prescribed fare caps.
In a statement, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said it has taken a serious note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines during the ongoing disruption.
“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,” it said.
The ministry clarified that the new prescribed fare caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilises. “The objective of this directive is to maintain pricing discipline in the market, prevent any exploitation of passengers in distress, and ensure that citizens who urgently need to travel — including senior citizens, students, and patients — are not subjected to financial hardship during this period,” it said.
Any deviation from the prescribed norms will attract immediate corrective action in the larger public interest, the statement added.
The directive comes amid media reports that the massive cancellations of IndiGo flights have caused a surge in fares of other mainlines like SpiceJet and Air India.
The low-cost SpiceJet was found to be charging Rs 80,00 for a single sector flight on Friday, which usually charges from Rs 5000 to Rs 12,000.
An economy class, one-way ticket for a two-stop Air India flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai was Rs 70,329, while another Air India connection from Hyderabad to Bhopal reportedly costs Rs 90,000.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mridul Mohol said the government has taken a very serious note of the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruption in Indigo’s services and is working with full urgency to restore normalcy.
“The Central Government has taken very serious note of the inconvenience caused to passengers due to the disruption in Indigo’s services. The FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) orders of the DGCA have been placed in abeyance with immediate effect. All necessary actions are being undertaken without compromising air safety and with the foremost priority of safeguarding passengers’ interests,” Mohol said in a post on X.
He also noted that a 24×7 control room has been established in the Ministry for real-time monitoring. The government has also decided to institute a high-level inquiry into the disruption, he added.
According to reports, over 400 IndiGo flights were cancelled on Saturday. The airline, which controls about two-thirds of the country's domestic traffic, had cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday, leading to chaos and confusion at airports and prompting protests by passengers.
The massive flight disruptions were caused by IndiGo's failure to plan properly for the new flight duty norms that provide for increased rest periods and fewer night landings.