Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai.The central government has asked major domestic airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Akasa Air, to submit complete data on average airfares charged during December. The move comes after widespread disruption in air travel last month, when thousands of flights were cancelled, leading to a steep increase in ticket prices for passengers who were forced to make last-minute bookings. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is compiling the information amid mounting complaints that travellers were made to pay several times the normal fare during the crisis.
IndiGo cancellations disrupt national air travel
IndiGo, which controls around 63 percent of India’s aviation market, cancelled nearly 4,500 flights in December alone. The airline was hit by a severe shortage of pilots, forcing it to ground a significant number of flights from its daily schedule of about 2,300 operations. The scale of the cancellations had a cascading impact across the aviation network, shrinking seat availability and pushing fares sharply higher across routes. Passengers with urgent travel needs bore the brunt, often paying inflated prices due to limited options.
DGCA seeks detailed fare and route data
The DGCA has asked airlines to share route-wise and average fare data to assess whether pricing during the disruption remained within acceptable limits. Officials are examining whether airlines took undue advantage of the sudden demand-supply imbalance. According to sources, the data review will focus on key metro and high-density routes where fare spikes were most pronounced. The exercise is also expected to help the government evaluate the need for stronger oversight during periods of operational stress.
Competition watchdog probes market dominance concerns
The Competition Commission of India has initiated an investigation into IndiGo’s conduct during the period of disruption. The regulator is examining whether the airline misused its dominant market position to impose unfair prices on consumers. Under competition law, companies with significant market share are barred from exploiting customers through unreasonable pricing practices.
Key points under review include:
- Extent of fare increases on routes affected by cancellations
- Availability of alternative flights during peak disruption
- Impact of IndiGo’s market share on overall pricing trends
Pilot duty rules trigger operational strain
The immediate trigger for the cancellations was the strict enforcement of pilot duty and rest norms by the DGCA under the Flight Duty Time Limitation rules. These rules increased mandatory weekly rest for pilots and reduced permissible night flying hours. IndiGo struggled to realign its pilot rosters in line with the revised norms, leading to last-minute grounding of aircraft. Other airlines also faced pressure, but IndiGo was the most affected due to the scale of its operations.
Aviation sector faces mounting financial losses
Adding to the sector’s troubles, rating agency Icra has projected a net loss of Rs 17,000 to Rs 18,000 crore for domestic airlines in the current financial year. This is significantly higher than the earlier estimate of around Rs 10,500 crore. Lower passenger traffic, rising costs and operational disruptions have worsened the outlook.
Industry concerns going forward include:
- Possible fare caps during emergencies
- Faster pilot hiring and training needs
- Tighter regulatory scrutiny on pricing practices
