“Don't Travel By Air”: Supreme Court Refuses Urgent Listing Of Plea Against Increased Airfares During Diwali

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently list a plea highlighting steep increases in domestic airfares during the 2026 Diwali festive season and seeking direction to the government to frame a mechanism to cap airfares on domestic routes during festival periods.

The plea also seeks interim directions to cap fares during the current festival season and the year-end festival season. The application was mentioned before a bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Aparesh Singh today.

Advocate Abhinav for the petitioner submitted that aviation fares have increased to 700% of normal fares. He said that air travel is an essential service and such an increase amounts to a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.

“Don't travel by air. Next case,” Justice Nath responded, refusing to list the matter.

The interlocutory application has been filed by petitioner S. Laxminarayanan in his pending PIL against algorithm-based dynamic pricing, steep increases in ticket prices at short notice, and ancillary charges. The PIL is currently listed to be heard on 16 November 2026 as per court's previous order.

The application, filed on October 30, seeks interim directions to cap airfares during festival periods and restore the free checked baggage allowance in economy class to 25 kg.

Notably, the Centre on 1^st November notified Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026, after push by Supreme Court earlier in the same PIL. In January 2026, the Court had decided to interfere after noting rampant surges in air ticket prices during festivals and high-demand periods. The new Rules will take effect from 1^st January 2027.

The Rules allow the Centre to issue directions to airlines on fares if it considers intervention necessary in public interest in an extraordinary situation. Rule 192 mandates airlines operating scheduled air services to determine their fares based on factors including the cost of operations and submit the tariff details to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The petitioner's IA states that fares on several major domestic routes rose between two and seven times their ordinary levels ahead of Diwali. It cites a Hindustan report dated October 29, according to which a Delhi – Kolkata ticket ordinarily costing ₹10,000 - ₹11,000 reached ₹78,694 for travel on November 6.

The petitioner has also highlighted substantial fare variations between flights operating on the same route on the same day. A Bengaluru – Delhi flight departing at 5 am on November 6 was available for approximately ₹15,901, whereas a 3:45 pm flight on the same day was priced at ₹40,506, the plea states. Similarly, Mumbai – Delhi fares rose from ₹11,531 to ₹60,577, while Delhi – Mumbai fares increased from ₹5,223 to ₹26,793, it states.

The application argues that airlines cannot justify such increases merely by citing aviation turbine fuel costs as flights operating on the same route on the same day consume comparable quantities of fuel.

“The airlines attribute such fares to the cost of aviation turbine fuel, and Respondent No. 1 (Union of India) has publicly echoed that explanation. It does not bear scrutiny. The fuel burnt by the 5:00 AM and the 3:45 PM flight on the same route and day is the same, yet one fare is over two and a half times the other. During the hearing on 13.07.2026, this Hon'ble Court noticed that airlines cite fuel prices and geopolitical events to justify increases of 100% to 300%, though the impact of fuel on cost is small. A rise in fuel cost may justify a marginal revision, never a fare of seven times the ordinary fare”, the application states.

It contends that fares determined predominantly by demand, rather than operating costs, enable airlines to exploit passengers during festivals and other periods of high demand.

The petitioner has sought directions to the Union Government and aviation authorities to frame a mechanism for capping domestic airfares during festival periods and, pending such a mechanism, impose temporary limits on economy fares during the current festive and year-end travel periods.

“The relief sought is limited and temporary. Airlines will continue to earn well above cost. Passengers, once they have paid or given up the journey, have no remedy. The balance of convenience is wholly in favour of the directions sought”, the plea contends.

It has also sought restoration of the free checked baggage allowance from 15 kg to 25 kg during festival periods.

“The burden does not end with the fare. As pleaded in the Writ Petition, the free checked baggage allowance in economy class on domestic flights, earlier 25 kg, has been brought down to 15 kg. Festival travellers, who carry gifts and household goods, pay excess baggage charges on top of the inflated fare”, the plea states.

The application states that confirmed train tickets for festival dates are exhausted weeks in advance, leaving air travel as the only option for passengers who need to travel for festivals or emergencies involving illness, death or employment. It contends that no other essential service is priced in this manner.

“A person who must reach home for a festival, or travel at short notice on account of illness, death or employment, has no choice but to fly and to pay whatever is demanded. During festivals, flights on these routes run full, and the airlines face no risk of loss on them. No other essential service is priced in this manner. The railways' flexi fare is capped at one and a half times the base fare; prices of essential medicines are capped under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013; electricity tariffs are fixed by regulatory commissions. Air travel cannot be the sole exception”, it states.

The plea states that the central government and DGCA permit exploitation of passengers by their inaction despite having the power to issue directions against predatory tariff.

“The power to act exists. Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, saved by Section 43(2) of the Bhartiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2024, requires tariffs to be fixed having regard to the cost of operation, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing tariff, and empowers the DGCA to issue directions against an excessive or predatory tariff. A festival surge causes the same hardship as a disruption; the difference is that it recurs every year and is foreseeable. The silence of Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, with the power in hand and the facts in public view, permits extortion. It is arbitrary and violates Articles 14, 19(1)(d) and 21 of the Constitution”, it states.