New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Saturday asked airlines to strictly adhere to fare caps as IndiGo flight cancellations continued on the fifth straight day, disrupting air travel across
the country. To protect passengers from "opportunistic pricing", the MoCA invoked its regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
The Ministry issued a directive to all airlines to follow fare caps. In a statement issued by the Ministry, it stated, "An official directive has been issued to all airlines mandating strict adherence to the fare caps that have now been prescribed. 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," the Ministry added.
The MoCA said that it would closely monitor fare levels through real-time data and active coordination with airlines and online travel platforms. "Any deviation from the prescribed norms will attract immediate corrective action in the larger public interest," it stated.
On Saturday also, hundreds of IndiGo flights were cancelled. Meanwhile, thousands of passengers have been stranded at major airports of the country.
Woman Passenger Crying At Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport In Ahmedabad:
According to reports, around 400 flights have been cancelled so far. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) is the worst-hit with nearly 117 flight cancellations, followed by the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi with 106 flights being cancelled so far. At Hyderabad Airport, over 60 flights have been cancelled so far.
On Friday, the airline's CEO Pieter Elbers said the situation is anticipated to normalise between December 10–15.
Elbers, in a video message, apologised for the major inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the disruptions. "Regrettably, earlier measures of the last few days have proven not to be enough. So we decided today for a reboot of all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest number of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting tomorrow onwards," he said.
Notably, on Friday, around 1,000 flights were cancelled by IndiGo across several major airports across the country.
