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 a direction to the government to frame a mechanism to cap airfares on domestic routes during festival periods, LiveLaw and The Hindu BusinessLine reported.
Source: LiveLaw
The application was mentioned before a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh. Advocate Abhinav, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that airfares had increased to 700 per cent of normal fares, that air travel is an essential service and that 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, filed on October 30, has been moved by petitioner S. Laxminarayanan in his pending public interest litigation against algorithm-based dynamic pricing, steep increases in ticket prices at short notice and ancillary charges levied by airlines. It seeks interim directions to cap fares during the current festival season and the year-end festival season, and to restore the free checked baggage allowance in economy class to 25 kg.
According to the application, fares on several major domestic routes rose between two and seven times their ordinary levels ahead of Diwali. It cites an October 29 Hindustan report, according to which a Delhi-Kolkata ticket ordinarily costing ₹10,000-₹11,000 reached ₹78,694 for travel on November 6.
What happens next
Laxminarayanan's main PIL is listed for hearing on November 16, 2026. During a hearing on October 16, the Centre informed the court that administrative approval had been granted to rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, and the court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place the published rules before it on the next date of hearing. In January this year, the court had said it would interfere with the unpredictable fluctuations in airfares and flagged the exorbitant rise during festivals.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
Monday's refusal follows the earlier development in the same case: on November 1, the Centre notified the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026, which take effect from January 1, 2027. The rules contain no fare cap, but allow the Centre to issue directions to airlines on fares if it considers intervention necessary in the public interest in an extraordinary situation; Rule 192 requires airlines to determine fares based on factors including the cost of operations and to submit tariff details to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).