‘Don’t Travel By Air’: SC Refuses Urgent Hearing On Plea Alleging 700% Airfare Hike

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to urgently list a plea alleging a nearly 700 per cent hike in airfares, telling the petitioner, "Don't travel by air".

An advocate mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh, stating that airfares had increased by 700 per cent, PTI news agency reported.

"Don't travel by air," the bench observed.

The advocate then argued that air travel was an essential service and that the alleged fare hike amounted to a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.

SC Hearing Separate Plea Seeking Regulation Of Airfares

The apex court is already hearing a separate petition filed by social activist S Laxminarayanan, who has sought the establishment of a robust and independent regulator to ensure transparency and protect passengers across the civil aviation sector.

The petition also seeks regulatory guidelines to curb "unpredictable fluctuations" in airfares and ancillary charges imposed by private airlines in India.

During a hearing on October 16, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that administrative approval had been granted to the rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, a legislation aimed at regulating India's aviation sector. The rules were likely to be published within two weeks.

The apex court had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place the published rules before it on the next date of hearing, scheduled for November 16.

Supreme Court Flags ‘Exploitation’ Through High Airfares

On August 17, the Centre told the top court that it had fast-tracked the framing of rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam to modernise India's aviation sector.

In November last year, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Centre and other parties on Laxminarayanan's petition.

During a hearing in January, the court said it would intervene over unpredictable fluctuations in airfares and flagged steep increases during festivals. It described exorbitant fare hikes by airlines as "exploitation" and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file their responses to the plea.