Airfares Under Radar: DGCA Seeks Data From IndiGo, Air India, Others After December Chaos

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has mandated prominent Indian airlines, such as Akasa, IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet, to provide data regarding the average fare charged, sources told NDTV Profit.

The DGCA has asked these airlines to share the information on the average fares on economy and premium seats for the routes they operated on between Dec. 1–15.

This development comes after IndiGo's mass cancellation of flights in December, citing complications with the implementation of the new rostering norms mandated by the Centre, along with weather and tech-infrastructure-related roadblocks.

The details were requested at the behest of the Competition Commission of India so it could analyze airfare patterns during the disruption, the sources said.

IndiGo, which held nearly 65% of the market share within the industry, cancelled 4,500 flights in December, leaving many passengers stranded and disrupting their travel plans.

This led to fares of other airlines shooting up, compelling the Centre to intervene put up a price cap on the fares as a temporary measure.

The same day flight costs for popular routes such as Delhi to Mumbai had surged to as high as Rs 50,000 for airlines such as Air India and Akasa Air, according to reports from Jan. 5 while the disruption was taking place.

The CCI is also reviewing a complaint that accused IndiGo of cancelling flights and later offering those very seats for steeper prices, leading to speculation regarding the airline abusing its elevated dominance in the market.