Anyone who has booked a flight during Diwali, Chhath, or a sudden emergency knows the jolt of watching ticket prices multiply overnight. Fares that normally cost four to five thousand rupees can suddenly climb to fifteen or twenty thousand rupees. That kind of unchecked surge pricing, along with a pile of hidden add-on charges, is now headed for a crucial hearing at the Supreme Court on September 7. A bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta will take up the petition.
Who filed the case, and why
The petition comes from social worker S. Lakshminarayanan, who argues that private airlines in the country are charging passengers whatever they please. Prices spike sharply just before festivals and holiday periods, and airlines add assorted hidden charges at the same time, catching travellers off guard.
Senior advocate Ravindra Srivastava, representing the petitioner, told the court that the existing framework has failed to rein in this practice, leaving ordinary passengers to absorb the financial hit. The petition calls for a strong, independent regulator for the entire aviation sector, one that would bring transparency to fare-setting and safeguard passenger rights.
The court has flagged this before
This is not the first time the top court has taken a firm stand on airfares. Back in January, the bench observed that such a sudden spike in fares around festivals and holidays was a serious concern, and said it would step in if required. Then, at a hearing on May 15, the bench remarked that ticket pricing needed some kind of rational, structured system behind it, rather than being left entirely to the airlines' discretion.
What the government has told the court
The Supreme Court had also asked the central government what steps it was taking to ease the burden on passengers. At the previous hearing on August 17, the ministry informed the court that work on new rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, the law meant to modernise the country's aviation sector, had been sped up. The government submitted a draft of these proposed rules to the court in a sealed envelope, adding that final-stage discussions were underway and would be wrapped up within three weeks. All eyes are now on Monday's hearing, which could indicate how soon, and in what form, curbs on arbitrary airfare hikes might finally arrive.
