Following a pushback from airlines to the aviation regulator’s demand to submit airfare data for every ticket sold in the past two years, the DGCA has backed down and accepted aggregated data instead.
“The DGCA has kindly accepted FIA’s request that FIA member airlines furnish aggregated airfare data to enable DGCA to analyse airfare trends,” the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) said in a statement. The industry body represents Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo.
“We have received the aggregated data submitted to us. We will examine and analyse it to know what is the truth (about claims and counter claims on airfare spikes),” a senior DGCA official said.
To a question on whether an order to airlines was in the offing on keeping airfares in check, the official said such a decision could only be taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The airline had opposed the DGCA’s demand for ticket-wise airfare data for the past two years citing risks to confidentiality and airline competitiveness. According to the FIA, sharing granular data posed several risks, including potential leaks through third party and consultants.
The government scrutiny on airfares followed a complaint in January from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) national spokesperson Vinod Bansal about exorbitant airfares to Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh festival. He claimed that airlines had raised airfares by “200% to 700%” which was “unfair” and “unethical” and demanded that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its other departments intervene so that devotees were not inconvenienced.
Soon after this, Minister for Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu held a review meeting with the airlines on air fares and connectivity to Prayagraj and IndiGo slashed airfares by 30% to 50% on all routes to and from Prayagraj.
Published – March 26, 2025 07:29 pm IST