IndiGo flight cancellations: Government imposes a cap on airlines’ ticket prices surge

The civil aviation ministry has said that the government has taken serious note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares.

IndiGo flight cancellations have been a major issue, causing chaos and inconvenience to passengers across the country. Amid this, airlines have seen a surge in ticket prices. However, the government, taking note of the rising issue, has imposed a cap on the massively higher ticket prices.

MoCA says that it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said it has invoked its regulatory powers to ensure “fair’ and “reasonable” fares across all affected routes to protect passengers from any form of opportunistic pricing amid concerns regarding unusually high airfares that have been charged by certain airlines amidst the ongoing disruption after IndiGo cancelled at least 1,600 flights over the week. The reason, as per reports, was the airline’s mismanagement of the crew roster. In a statement, MoCA said, “The Ministry of Civil Aviation has taken serious note of concerns regarding unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines during the ongoing 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.”

MoCA aims to prevent the exploitation of passengers and to maintain pricing discipline.

The statement said, “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 that an official directive has been issued to all airlines mandating strict adherence to the fare cap that has now been prescribed.

The statement said that the government would continue to closely monitor fare levels through real-time data and active coordination with airlines and online travel platforms. It continued, “Any deviation from the prescribed norms will attract immediate corrective action in the larger public interest.”