The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to submit its final rules regulating airfare pricing by November 16, following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) addressing arbitrary ticket pricing, exploitative surge pricing during peak festival periods, and a lack of oversight. During the hearing, the Union Government informed the court that the regulatory framework has received administrative approval and will be officially published within two weeks, prompting the bench to schedule the next review once the formal rules are placed on record.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath, R. Mahadevan, and Aparesh Singh is hearing a PIL filed by social activist S. Laxminarayanan against arbitrary airfares, extreme surge pricing, economy ticket price disparities, and reduced baggage allowances by private airlines. In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that the Centre’s new regulatory framework has cleared administrative approvals and will be officially published and submitted to the court before the next hearing on November 16.