Domestic air fares capped at ₹18,000, excluding service fee, taxes

AMID the slew of IndiGo flight disruptions and surging airfares, the Civil Aviation Ministry, on Saturday, directed capping of domestic airfares at ₹18,000 (excluding service fee, taxes), with immediate effect and would be applicable until fares stabilise, or till further review. The capping, however does not apply for business class and UDAN flights, as per the government's statement.

The government directive comes as IndiGo operations across India remained severely disrupted for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday, with more than 400 flights cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Guwahati, and other cities.

Stage Length    Maximum Fare ( ₹)

Up to 500 km    7,500
500–1000 km    12,000
1000–1500 km    15,000
Above 1500 km    18,000

Domestic airfare capping: Key things to know

– The fares limits are applicable for travel until the fares stabilise or till further review.

– These fare limits shall be applicable for all forms of bookings, regardless of whether the purchase is made directly through the airline's official website or through various online travel agents' platforms.

– The airlines shall maintain air ticket availability across all buckets for travel and if need be consider capacity enhancement on sectors characterised by surge in demand.

– The airlines shall avoid steep or unusual upward fare revisions on sectors affected by cancellations.

– The airlines shall extend maximum possible support to affected passengers, including alternate flight options where feasible.

— The orders will come into force with immediate effect.

Air travel across India has been in turmoil this week after IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights – prompting the operation of additional coaches in premium trains to clear the backlog. What started with flight cancellations, delays spiralled into a saga of passenger frustration, with skyrocketing airfares adding to the already mounting chaos.

Airfares surge

Airfares reached never-before-seen levels 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.

"The last-minute fares are generally two to three times of the normal average fares. But in this situation, we have seen them surging even six times," a source was quoted by PTI as saying.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had issued another statement stating that it had “taken serious note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares” that are being charged by airlines amid the disruption.

“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. An official directive has been issued to all airlines mandating strict adherence to the fare caps that have now been prescribed. These caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilises,” the Ministry said in its statement.