Rajya Sabha K C Tyagi Raises Airfare Issue in Parliament After IndiGo Disruptions, Rs 42,000 Delhi–Mumbai Ticket Sparks Probe Into Fare Cap Violation

Delhi: Allegations of airlines charging exorbitant fares despite regulatory restrictions have landed squarely in Parliament, triggering scrutiny of India’s aviation watchdog and airline pricing practices during periods of disruption. The issue came to light after former JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP and party adviser K C Tyagi flagged what he described as a glaring violation of fare limits on the busy Delhi–Mumbai route.

According to Tyagi, his granddaughter was charged ₹42,151 for a one-way Air India ticket between Delhi and Mumbai for travel on December 7. This, he pointed out, was a day after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had imposed temporary fare ceilings following widespread flight cancellations and delays linked to operational troubles at IndiGo. The regulator’s directive was intended to protect passengers from price spikes during the disruption and clearly defined the maximum fares airlines could charge on different distance slabs.

Under the DGCA’s temporary order, airfares for routes ranging from 500 km to 1,500 km — a category that includes the Delhi–Mumbai sector — were capped between ₹7,500 and ₹18,000 until flight operations returned to normal. Tyagi has alleged that the fare charged in his granddaughter’s case exceeded the upper limit by more than three times, raising serious questions about compliance and enforcement.

The matter has now been taken up by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, chaired by JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha. Sources indicate that the committee has received a formal written complaint from Tyagi and has asked the DGCA to submit a detailed explanation on how such pricing was allowed despite explicit regulatory instructions. The panel has also sought data on whether similar complaints were received from other passengers during the same disruption period.

In a strongly worded communication to the committee, Tyagi described the episode as symptomatic of deeper structural weaknesses in civil aviation regulation. He alleged that inadequate oversight and lax enforcement by the DGCA enabled airlines to take advantage of passengers at a time when travel options were already limited. Terming the episode “brutal economic exploitation,” Tyagi said airlines appeared to have ignored the fare schedule with impunity, despite warnings that arbitrary price hikes would be treated as serious violations.

Tyagi clarified that his intervention was not limited to a personal grievance. He said the complaint was meant to highlight the plight of thousands of passengers who may have been forced to pay inflated fares during the chaos caused by mass cancellations and delays. He has urged the government to direct both the regulator and the airlines concerned to ensure refunds of excess amounts collected from affected travellers. He has also indicated plans to raise the issue before Parliament’s consumer affairs committee.