The Supreme Court of India has questioned the Central Government regarding arbitrary increase in air fares and reduction in the limit of carrying luggage. The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta has called it a matter of serious concern. The court said that during festivals and holidays, airlines are charging arbitrary fares from passengers, which should be curbed. This matter is important for millions of people who live in other cities or Gulf countries for work and come home on festivals.
ℹ️: DGCA changed the rules, free cancellation till 48 hours of booking flight tickets, benefit will be available from March 26.
Why is the Supreme Court angry and what is the complaint?
The PIL states that the airlines have reduced the free check-in luggage limit from 25 kg to 15 kg. If a passenger’s luggage is more than this, then he has to pay additional charges of up to Rs 660 per kg. The Court also noted that during festival times, such as Kumbh or holidays, airfares increase up to three times the normal rate. Citing the examples of cities like Prayagraj and Jodhpur, the bench considered it as exploitation of passengers.
What response did the government give and what will happen next?
On behalf of the Central Government, the court has been told that the Civil Aviation Ministry is taking this issue seriously and it is being reviewed at the highest level. The Solicitor General has also called a high-level meeting for this. The Supreme Court has given the Center 4 weeks time to file its reply. Now the next hearing of this case will be on March 23, 2026. The petition demands that air service should also be considered an essential service like railways and an upper limit on fares should be fixed so that there is no burden on the pockets of passengers.