'Cannot cap airfares for whole year': Aviation minister tells Parliament
12 Dec 2025

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said that the government cannot impose a year-round cap on airfares as ticket prices usually go up during festival seasons.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Naidu said that deregulation of the aviation market allows it to grow and benefits consumers.

"The idea behind deregulation when it was introduced was to allow the sector to grow," he said, adding that all countries with exceptional growth had deregulated markets.

Deregulation encourages market competition, cooperation: Naidu
Market dynamics

Naidu said deregulation encourages more players to enter the market and opens up greater cooperation.

"You allow market dynamics to function, letting demand and supply play their natural roles. Ultimately, the passenger benefits the most," the minister said.

He was responding to a private member's bill on regulating airfares across India.

He clarified that while deregulation is key for growth, it doesn't mean companies have a free hand; the Centre has powers to intervene in extraordinary circumstances.

Government's power to intervene in extraordinary circumstances
Intervention authority

"Even though the market is deregulated, the Aircraft Act in its current form gives the central government the authority, in extraordinary circumstances where there is a possibility of misuse, to intervene and set things right. This includes capping fares to ensure that passengers are not subjected to opportunistic pricing," Naidu said.

He cited examples like the COVID-19 pandemic and recent IndiGo issues as instances where government intervention was necessary to cap airfares and protect passengers from unfair pricing practices.

4 flight operations inspectors sacked
Meeting

Earlier, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) sacked four Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) over the recent IndiGo flight cancellation crisis.

According to the notice issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the four Flight Operation Inspectors are Rish Raj Chatterjee, Seema Jhamnani, Anil Kumar Pokhariyal, and Priyam Kaushik.

Furthermore, a special four-member Committee of the DGCA will meet with IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers to question him on the widespread cancellation of flights in the last week, ANI reported.