'Fare caps in place': What govt said in big order to airlines amid IndiGo chaos
The Ministry of Civil Aviation invoked its regulatory powers, issuing an official directive to all airlines.
Amid mass cancellations of IndiGo flights across the country, what added to passengers' worries was an exponential surge in ticket prices of other airlines. Stranded on airports due to the cancellations, flyers tried to book alternate flights, domestic airfares on some routes climbed as high as ₹70,000.
To address the issue, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday invoked its regulatory powers, issuing an official directive to all airlines to monitor airfares.
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What did the Ministry of Civil Aviation say
The ministry has prescribed fare caps to the airlines, mandating strict adherence to these.
“These 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,” the ministry said in a press release Saturday.
This came after the ministry took note of the concerns regarding “unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines” amid the disruptions in IndiGo flight operations.
The ministry termed the surge in charges as “opportunistic pricing”, and said it had taken the decision to protect passengers and ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
“The Ministry will continue to closely monitor fare levels through real-time data and active coordination with airlines and online travel platforms,” the release said, adding that any deviation from the norms prescribed by it would draw “immediate coercive action” for the violators.
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Several flight booking websites like MakeMyTrip (MMT), Goibibo and Easemytrip showed a surge in fares of air tickets on routes from Delhi to major metros and state capitals. The hike in fares was such that same-day non-stop flights cost up to double the rates available for neighbouring dates.
For example, the cheapest flight at 5 am on MMT for Delhi to Bengaluru was priced at around ₹40,000, and from Bengaluru to Delhi at around ₹70,000. The fare was lower from December 7 onwards, with airlines charging ₹37,571 on Sunday and ₹11,185 on Monday. The fare went down to ₹7,173 by the next weekend.
