The Civil Aviation Ministry on Saturday stepped in with an urgent measure to control spiralling airfares as IndiGo’s nationwide operational crisis entered its fifth day. With hundreds of domestic flights cancelled since morning and thousands of passengers stranded across major airports, the ministry announced a temporary cap on air ticket prices to prevent airlines from charging what it described as “opportunistic and unreasonable fares.”
In an official statement, the ministry said it had taken “serious note” of unusually high prices appearing on multiple routes following mass cancellations. To protect passengers from financial distress, especially senior citizens, students, and those travelling for medical needs, the government has issued a directive mandating all airlines to follow the newly prescribed fare ceilings. These caps will remain in force until flight operations stabilise.
Alongside the fare control measures, the Ministry also ordered IndiGo to clear all pending passenger refunds by 8 pm on Sunday, December 7. It further instructed all airlines not to impose any rescheduling charges on travellers affected by cancellations or delays during this period. Officials added that real-time fare monitoring will continue in coordination with travel platforms to ensure compliance.
The chaos unfolded after IndiGo faced a severe and unexpected pilot shortage, leading to a dramatic fall in punctuality and widespread cancellations. The airline, which usually operates around 2,300 flights daily with over 400 aircraft, said that recovery would take time due to the scale of disruption. On Friday night, IndiGo issued a public apology, assuring passengers that automatic refunds for cancelled flights were underway.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the situation was “on the verge of getting resolved,” noting that major metro airports had already cleared passenger backlogs. He added that IndiGo would resume operations with limited capacity before gradually scaling up through the week, with full normalisation expected between December 10 and 15.
