IndiGo Crisis Escalates: Government Caps Fares After Massive Flight Cancellations and Protests

Thiruvananthapuram: The disruption in the aviation sector, which has left passengers stranded in airports across the country, intensified further as IndiGo cancelled five more flights from Thiruvananthapuram. The domestic services scheduled from 6 am. on Sunday were withdrawn.

On Saturday, over 500 IndiGo flights were cancelled, triggering widespread protests at airports against the Central government. Meanwhile, other airlines significantly hiked their ticket fares, worsening the crisis and causing additional distress to passengers.

Taking advantage of the situation, several airlines sharply increased prices far beyond reasonable limits, resulting in what many described as “daylight robbery”. This prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene and impose fare caps. The revised limits are: 7,500 rupees for journeys up to 500 km, 12,000 rupees for 500–1000 km, 15,000 rupees for 1000–1500 km, and 18,000 rupees for tickets for distances above 1500 km.

These caps apply to routes affected by the ongoing crisis. However, full compliance is yet to be observed. Airlines continued to charge beyond the notified limit for long-haul routes on Saturday — including Delhi–Kochi flights, which exceed 1500 km.

Ticket prices from Delhi to Kerala crossed 1 lakh rupees, forcing the government to impose immediate restrictions. The fare control will remain in effect until the situation stabilizes. The Ministry has also directed IndiGo to complete full refunds for disrupted passengers by 8 pm. on Sunday. The current situation will be reported to the Prime Minister’s Office.

There is growing criticism that the complete privatization of the aviation sector has led to such unregulated fare hikes, which many view as a major policy failure.