IndiGo crisis prompts Centre to enforce fare caps on major routes

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has directed airlines to comply with newly introduced fare caps on all disrupted routes, following a sharp surge in airfares amid ongoing flight disruptions triggered by the operational crisis at IndiGo. The caps will remain in force until normal flight operations resume and the situation stabilises.

This move comes in the wake of a major operational meltdown at IndiGo, which saw hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed across major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and others. On Thursday alone, the airline cancelled over 1,000 flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

The disruption was triggered by the rollout of stricter crew duty-regulations, the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which came into effect recently, increased mandatory rest periods and restricted night-flying hours for pilots. IndiGo reportedly could not rework its crew rosters in time to meet these norms, leading to acute pilot and crew shortages.

As a result, significant portions of IndiGo’s daily network, which accounts for a large share of India’s domestic air traffic, came to a standstill. The cancellations and delays triggered what many described as “airfare anarchy”, with ticket prices on alternate airlines and routes reportedly jumping several folds.

In its statement, MoCA said the fare-cap directive is intended to restore pricing discipline, and prevent opportunistic behaviour by airlines or travel platforms that may exploit stranded or distressed passengers, especially senior citizens, students and patients travelling for urgent reasons. The government emphasised that no vulnerable traveller should face financial hardship due to sudden fare hikes.

To enforce the caps, the ministry said it will monitor fare levels in real time via data and work in coordination with airlines and online travel platforms. Any deviation from the prescribed limits, it warned, would trigger immediate corrective action in the larger public interest.

The government has also ordered a high-level inquiry into the disruption to determine the operational lapses that led to the cancellations and fare spikes.