New Delhi : The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has directed airlines to comply with newly introduced fare caps on all disrupted routes, following a sharp surge in airfares amid ongoing flight disruptions triggered by the operational crisis at IndiGo. This move comes in the wake of a major operational meltdown at IndiGo, which saw hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed across major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and others.
The disruption was triggered by the rollout of stricter crew duty-regulations, the new Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, which came into effect recently, increased mandatory rest periods and restricted night-flying hours for pilots. IndiGo reportedly could not rework its crew rosters in time to meet these norms, leading to acute pilot and crew shortages. Significant portions of IndiGo’s daily network, which accounts for a large share of India’s domestic air traffic, came to a standstill.
MoCA said the fare-cap directive is intended to restore pricing discipline, and prevent opportunistic behaviour by airlines or travel platforms that may exploit stranded or distressed passengers, especially senior citizens, students and patients travelling for urgent reasons. The government emphasised that no vulnerable traveller should face financial hardship due to sudden fare hikes. To enforce the caps, the ministry said it will monitor fare levels in real time via data and work in coordination with airlines and online travel platforms.
On Friday, more than 1,000 IndiGo flights were cancelled. After the government announced the exemptions to the rules for IndiGo, the airline said it could return to normal operations between December 10 and 15. On Saturday, IndiGo cancelled 124 flights in Bengaluru, 109 in Mumbai, 86 in New Delhi and 66 in Hyderabad, airport sources told news agency. The disruptions have upended weddings in India as many families and guests were stranded at airports.
Hundreds of passengers gathered outside Bengaluru and Mumbai airports on Saturday, some unaware of the cancellations, according to Reuters witnesses. Satish Konde had to catch a connecting flight from Mumbai to the western city of Nagpur and had checked in before being told it was cancelled. “I am waiting for my luggage to be returned,” he said.
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