The Centre can directly intervene on ticket pricing in extraordinary situations under a new set of aviation rules that also require airlines to disclose cancellation charges and refund conditions separately while displaying airfares to passengers.
These rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2024, were notified by the civil aviation ministry (MoCA) on October 26 and published in the Gazette of India on October 31. They will come into effect on January 1, 2027, replacing the Aircraft Rules, 1937. The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, which replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934, came into force on January 1, 2025.
The new rules shift the intervention power on specified tariff-related grounds from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to the Central Government. Such directions must be proportionate to the circumstances and remain in force only for a specified period, the rules say. The provisions do not introduce a routine cap on airfares or require government approval for every ticket price. Hence, airlines will continue to determine fares in normal circumstances. The new framework, however, provides for tariff submission and monitoring by the DGCA.
Under Rule 135(4) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, the DGCA could issue directions to an airline if it was satisfied that the airline was charging excessive tariff. A new rule, 192(6), however, empowers the Central government itself to issue written directions in the public interest when it considers a situation extraordinary and intervention necessary.
