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The Supreme Court of the country has taken a very strict and historic stand on the arbitrary air fares and sudden price increases charged by the airlines during festivals, holidays and emergency situations across the country. The Supreme Court has made a strong comment on the laxity in curbing the arbitrariness of private airlines and made it clear that if the airlines do not follow the government guidelines and price rules, then their flights should be stopped immediately i.e. they should be ‘grounded’. The division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta has given time to the Central Government to prepare and present the final rules related to airfare, baggage charges, cancellation and refund under the Indian Aircraft Act, 2024 within the next 3 weeks.
Petition demands arbitrary recovery and independent regulator
Top court social activist S. It is hearing a PIL filed by Lakshminarayan in which a demand has been made to set up a strong and independent statutory regulator to bring transparency in the civil aviation sector of the country, protect the consumer rights of passengers and control unexpected fluctuations in ticket rates. Senior advocate on behalf of the petitioner argued in the court that until the new rules are fully implemented, the old system is effective, but due to inactivity of the existing system and lack of administrative will, the airlines are financially exploiting the passengers. The court was also apprised that huge discrepancy in fares ranging from ₹8,000 to ₹18,000 was being charged by different airlines on the same route.
‘If airlines don’t follow rules then stop flights’: Supreme Court
During the hearing, when the Central Government said that the Ministry has been issuing Office Memorandums (OMs) to the airlines from time to time, the Division Bench expressed displeasure and questioned whether these memorandums have had any practical effect at the ground level. While making oral remarks, the bench asked what value is left in the old rules and whether they have become mere paper documents. The court directed in strong words that if private aviation companies ignore the pricing and passenger safety rules set by the government, the government should take a strict stance and such airlines should not be allowed to fly. The court emphasized that it is essential to have a strict and binding enforcement mechanism to prevent exploitation of passengers.
Draft handed over in sealed envelope, assurance of finalization in 3 weeks
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Kaushik, appearing for the Central Government, informed the bench that the process of making rules under the new ‘Indian Aircraft Act, 2024’ brought with the aim of modernizing the Indian aviation sector has been expedited. The government presented the draft of the proposed rules before the court in a sealed cover and said that final rounds of discussions are going on on some technical and policy aspects. The Additional Solicitor General assured the court that the Central Government will complete the consultations with all stakeholders within three weeks and place the final notification on record for the court’s perusal. Accepting this argument of the government, the top court has fixed the next hearing of the case on September 7.
Strict framework will be made on surge pricing, cancellation and baggage charges
The main focus of this ongoing legal process in the court is not only to control the base fare but also to make transparent the various hidden charges (Ancillary Charges) imposed on passengers during ticket booking. A rational limit on excessive surge pricing (Fare Capping or Rationalisation), additional recovery in the name of seat selection, excess baggage charges, flight cancellation and setting strict deadlines for automatic refunds are being considered in the draft of the new rules. If this framework takes legal form, then sudden four to five times increase in air ticket prices during natural calamities, festivals like Diwali, Chhath Puja or summer holidays will be legally curbed.
Consumer protection and reliability of the aviation sector
India is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world, with a large section of the middle class using flights for travel. In such a situation, uncontrolled pricing in the name of competition in the market was causing serious harm to the interests of common passengers. This strong intervention by the Supreme Court not only holds policy-makers accountable but also sends a clear message to the airlines that violation of consumer rights in the name of profiteering will not be tolerated. After the next hearing on September 7, it will become completely clear what kind of concrete and effective mechanism the government offers to provide relief to crores of air passengers of the country from arbitrary fares.