NEW DELHI: The Center on Monday told the Supreme Court that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is actively examining the issues raised in the PIL that seeks to frame regulatory guidelines to control unforeseen fluctuations in air ticket prices and surcharges charged by private airlines in India.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, who termed the case “serious”, granted four weeks to the Center to complete deliberations on the issue reported in a public interest litigation.
“This is a very serious concern. Otherwise, we would not have accepted 32 petitions,” the council said.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Kaushik, while appearing for the Centre, said they need at least three weeks to submit their response to the PIL as the concerned ministry is actively examining the issues raised in the petition.
The bench, which recorded that the ministry had taken cognizance of the issues, sent the matter for further hearing on March 23.
On January 19, the Supreme Court said it would intervene in “unforeseen fluctuations” in air ticket prices and pointed to exorbitant hikes during festivals.
The Supreme Court has termed exorbitant hike in air ticket prices by airlines as “exploitation” and asked the Center and the DGCA to submit their responses to the PIL seeking binding regulatory guidelines to control unforeseen fluctuations in air ticket prices and surcharges charged by private airlines in India.
On November 17, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Center and others on a petition filed by social activist S Laxminarayanan, who sought the establishment of a strong and independent regulatory body that would ensure transparency and protection of passengers across the civil aviation sector.
It has issued notices to the Centre, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India seeking their responses to the petition.
The petition alleged that all private airlines have, without any credible justification, reduced the free check-in weight allowance for economy class passengers from 25 kg to 15 kg, “thus converting what was previously part of the ticket service into a new source of revenue”.
“The new policy of allowing only one item for check-in and the absence of any discount, compensation or benefit for passengers who do not avail of checked baggage, demonstrates the arbitrary and discriminatory nature of this measure,” it said.
She claimed that currently, no authority has the power to review or fix air ticket prices or surcharges, allowing airlines to exploit consumers through hidden charges and unpredictable prices.
“The disorganized, opaque and exploitative behavior of airlines, manifested in arbitrary price increases, unilateral reduction of services, absence of grievance redressal on the ground and unjustified dynamic pricing algorithms, directly violates citizens’ fundamental rights to equality, freedom of movement and life with dignity,” the appeal said.
She said the absence of regulatory safeguards leads to arbitrary price hikes, especially during festivals or weather disturbances, which disproportionately hurts the poor and last-minute travellers.
The wealthier few can plan and book in advance, while economically weaker citizens are forced to buy tickets at peak prices, the appeal said.
She said that the state’s failure to regulate pricing algorithms, cancellation policies, service continuity, and grievance mechanisms constitutes a dereliction of its constitutional duty and calls for urgent judicial intervention.
She said that there is no rule preventing airlines from increasing prices based on demand, and allowing them this freedom within the framework of basic services is unjustified.
She also said that the right to dignity includes access to basic services such as emergency transportation on fair and non-exploitative terms.
“Arbitrary increases in ticket prices during emergencies deprive vulnerable citizens of this right, especially when they are forced to choose air travel out of necessity rather than luxury,” the appeal said.
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