Supreme Court gives four-word response while rejecting plea over skyrocketing airfares

The Supreme Court on Monday (Nov 2) dismissed an urgent hearing request linked to surge in air fare during the Diwali season. The court advised the petitioners to not travel by air and rejected hearing the plea. The matter was mentioned before a three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Aparesh Kumar Singh.

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What was the plea?

The interlocutory application was filed as a public interest litigation (PIL) by social activist S. Laxminarayanan. The counsel stated that algorithm-based dynamic pricing creates artificial, massive price spikes. They cited news reports indicating that a typical Delhi–Kolkata ticket (ordinarily costing ₹10,000–₹11,000) had soared to ₹78,694 for travel around November 6. The plea stated that the said hike is by 700 per cent over normal fares. The plea requested immediate interim directions to cap domestic airfares during peak festival seasons and to restore the free checked baggage limit in economy class to 25 kg. The counsel argued that air travel is an essential service and steep fare hikes violate Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality.

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What the court said?

Outrightly refusing to hear the plea, Justice Vikram Nath gave a four-word response and said: “Don't travel by air." He then directed the Court Master for “next case.”

What are new aviation rules?

The plea came after the Centre in October informed the Supreme Court that administrative approval had been granted for new aviation rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, to regulate airfares and that they were likely to be published within two weeks. Under Rule 192(6), the Central Government now holds the direct legal authority to step in and issue written directions to regulate airfares only during "extraordinary situations" in the public interest. Airlines are not allowed to hide ancillary charges or inflate prices at the final payment screen. They are now legally mandated to show the total payable amount upfront on booking websites, with an explicit, itemised breakdown of the base fare, government taxes, airline fees, cancellation charges, and refund conditions. Airlines must regularly submit their maximum and minimum fare buckets to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).