The Union Government informed the Supreme Court on Friday (October 16) that rules to regulate airfare pricing have been finalised and received administrative approval, and would be published within two weeks.

A bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Aparesh Singh was hearing a PIL filed by S. Laxminarayanan concerning arbitrary and exorbitant airfare pricing by private airlines.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the rules had been finalised and administrative approval had been granted for their publication.

Taking note of the submission, the Court directed that the matter be listed on November 16, by which date the published rules must be placed before it.

The rules have been framed in the backdrop of concerns over sharp and unpredictable increases in airfares, particularly during periods of high demand, and excessive charges imposed on air passengers.

Senior Advocate Ravindra Srivastava questioned the delay in framing the rules and highlighted that the same issues arose ahead of Diwali this year.

On August 17, the Centre had placed a draft of the proposed rules before the Supreme Court in a sealed cover.

The Court perused the draft and returned it to the government. The Centre had then sought three weeks to finalise the rules. The Rules are likely to address the concerns raised in the PIL including airfare pricing, surge pricing and excess baggage charges.

The petition raises concerns over algorithm-based dynamic pricing, steep increases in ticket prices at short notice and airline charges affecting passengers. It also questions the reduction of complimentary check-in baggage allowance from 25 kg to 15 kg.

The petitioner has sought regulatory intervention to ensure fair and transparent airfare pricing and protect passengers against excessive charges.

In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had decided to intervene in the matter after expressing concern over steep airfare increases during festivals and periods of high demand, including during the Maha Kumbh.

Senior Advocate Ravindra Srivastava appeared for the petitioner along with Advocate-on-Record Charu Mathur.