New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday, November 2, declined to grant an urgent hearing to an application seeking intervention over steep increases in domestic airline ticket prices ahead of the Diwali festive season.
During the proceedings, advocate Abhinav brought the matter before a three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh. The lawyer informed the court that airfares had reportedly increased by nearly 700 per cent on certain routes.
Responding to the submission, Justice Vikram Nath remarked, "Don't travel by air," before the bench moved on to the next matter.
The petitioner's counsel argued that air travel is an essential service and that excessive ticket price increases could raise constitutional concerns under Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law.
The application was filed in connection with an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by social activist S. Laxminarayanan. The petition raises concerns about airline pricing practices, particularly algorithm-driven dynamic pricing, sudden increases in ticket costs and additional charges imposed by private carriers.
The petitioner has sought a regulatory mechanism to prevent unreasonable airfare fluctuations, particularly during festivals, holidays and other periods of high passenger demand.
According to the application, domestic airfares on several routes have reportedly reached two to seven times their usual levels ahead of Diwali.
The scale of the alleged price increase has also drawn attention to specific domestic routes. According to figures cited in the application, a Delhi-Kolkata flight ticket that normally costs around ₹10,000–₹11,000 was listed at approximately ₹78,694 for travel on November 6.
The petitioner argued that although airlines may revise ticket prices in response to increasing operational expenses, demand-based pricing should not result in disproportionately high fares that make air travel unaffordable for ordinary passengers.
The latest development comes amid an ongoing judicial examination of airfare regulation in India.
During earlier hearings, the Supreme Court had expressed concerns over unpredictable ticket price increases during high-demand periods and asked the Centre and aviation authorities to examine the issue.
On October 16, the Centre informed the court that administrative approval had been granted for rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, aimed at regulating the aviation sector.
The Supreme Court had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place the notified rules before it at the next hearing, scheduled for November 16, 2026.
The refusal to urgently list the latest application does not amount to a final decision on the underlying PIL or the legality of airline pricing practices. The broader regulatory issue remains pending before the court.
With festive travel demand putting additional pressure on ticket prices, the question of passenger protection and transparent airfare regulation continues to remain an important issue for India's aviation sector.
