The Supreme Court on Monday expressed concern over private airlines increasing airfares during festivals and emergencies. The court stated that this is a matter of grave concern. Otherwise, it would not have considered the 32 petitions. The central government informed the Supreme Court that the Civil Aviation Ministry is considering the issue. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta granted the central government and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) four weeks to consider and respond. The matter relates to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking regulations to control private airlines’ sudden fare hikes and extra fees during festivals. Additional Solicitor General Anil Kaushik informed the court that the matter concerns the public interest and that the government and relevant departments are considering it at a high level. The next hearing in the case will be held on March 23rd. The petition raised issues including check-in baggage. 17 November 2025: Court seeks response from DGCA-AERA Earlier, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the Central Government, DGCA, and Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) seeking a response within four weeks. The court had said that the sudden steep increase in airfares during festivals amounted to exploitation. The petition cited fare hikes after the Maha Kumbh Mela and the Pahalgam terrorist attack. Airlines had increased fares during the Indigo crisis. During the Indigo crisis in December 2025, fares of many private airlines also saw a surge. Passengers had to buy tickets at up to 10 times the normal price in search of alternative flights. According to booking site MakeMyTrip, on 6 December 2025, the cheapest flight from Delhi to Bengaluru was priced at over ₹40,000, while fares for some flights went up to ₹80,000. On December 10th, the Delhi High Court asked the Central Government about the Indigo crisis, what it did when the airline failed. How did flight ticket prices rise from ₹4,000-₹5,000 to ₹30,000? If this was a crisis, how were other airlines allowed to take advantage? —————————————— Read this news too… The government asked Indigo Airlines how much fare it charged in December; passengers paid multiple fares when 4,500 flights were cancelled. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought complete data on the average fares charged during the month of December from Indigo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air. The Central Government took this step after Indigo cancelled thousands of flights last month due to a shortage of pilots. Read the full news…
