'We Can Cap Fares': Aviation Minister Vows To Check Predatory Pricing After IndiGo Mayhem
Ram Mohan Naidu said the government has capped airfares during specific episodes of extraordinary demand or disruption.
The central government has the power to regulate and cap airfares when necessary and actively monitors airlines' adherance to declared tariff sheets, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Friday.
"According to the Aircraft Act as it stands, the central government has the power that, in extraordinary circumstances when there is a possibility of misuse of the air tariff deregulation it can intervene to set things right and cap fares, so that passengers do not experience opportunistic pricing at that time," Naidu told lawmakers in Lok Sabha.
India's aviation sector was upended recently due to IndiGo's crew rostering issues on the back of implementation of new flight duty norms by the central government, which required airlines to cut down on night duties and total flight hours for crew.
In the first week of December, India's largest airline was forced to cancel over 2,000 flights due to crew shortages. Ticket prices soared on multiple routes, triggering public outcry and government intervention.
The ministry has framed the caps as a consumer-protection step during operational instability, while officials continue to monitor compliance.
Naidu said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the industry regulator, has set up a Tariff Monitoring Unit to track airfares and verify whether airlines are pricing tickets within their declared tariff sheets.
He said the government has capped airfares during specific episodes of extraordinary demand or disruption, citing interventions during the Covid-19 pandemic, after the Pahalgam terror attack, and during the Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj, while arguing that permanent, sector-wide price controls are not feasible.
