The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday issued an official directive to all airlines, imposing temporary fare caps following a sharp spike in ticket prices triggered by widespread IndiGo flight cancellations across the country.
Passengers stranded at airports reported that fares on alternate airlines surged dramatically, with some domestic routes showing prices as high as ₹70,000 as travellers scrambled to rebook flights.
Ministry orders strict monitoring of airfares.
Invoking its regulatory powers, the ministry directed airlines to comply with pre-set fare ceilings to prevent further escalation. 
&ldquo;These caps will remain in force until the situation fully stabilises. The objective of this directive is to maintain pricing discipline in the market, prevent any exploitation of passengers in distress, and ensure that citizens who urgently need to travel, including senior citizens, students, and patients, are not subjected to financial hardship during this period,&rdquo; the ministry said.
The ministry noted reports of &ldquo;unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines&rdquo; in the wake of IndiGo&rsquo;s operational disruptions, describing the surge as &ldquo;opportunistic pricing.&rdquo; 
It added that the decision was taken to safeguard passengers and ensure &ldquo;fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.&rdquo;
The directive stated that the ministry would &ldquo;continue to closely monitor fare levels through real-time data and active coordination with airlines and online travel platforms,&rdquo; warning that any deviation from prescribed norms would invite &ldquo;immediate coercive action.&rdquo;
Massive fare hikes seen on key routes.
Flight-booking platforms such as MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and Easemytrip showed steep increases on major routes, including Delhi to metropolitan cities and state capitals. 
Same-day non-stop fares were seen at more than double the prices listed for surrounding dates.
For instance, the lowest fare at 5 am on Saturday from Delhi to Bengaluru was approximately ₹40,000, while prices for Bengaluru to Delhi climbed to nearly ₹70,000. 
Fares were significantly lower from December 7 onward, dropping to ₹37,571 on Sunday, ₹11,185 on Monday and around ₹7,173 by the following weekend.

The ministry took note of the concerns regarding “unusually high airfares being charged by certain airlines

Aviation Ministry caps fares after IndiGo cancellations trigger massive price surge

Govt Caps Airfares After IndiGo Disruptions

Aviation Ministry caps fares after IndiGo cancellations trigger massive price surge

December 6, 2025 | 20:20 IST