The government is taking this seriously. The directive explicitly states airlines cannot charge above these newly fixed maximum fares. This is pure public interest, designed to stabilize prices until operations actually return to normal.
Here’s the breakdown of the cap limits (excluding UDF, PSF, and taxes):
Up to 500{km}: Maximum fare is {₹}7,500. That’s a huge relief, or nothing.
500{km} to 1,000{km}: Maximum fare is {₹}12,000.
1,000{km} to 1,500km: Maximum fare is {₹}15,000.
Above 1,500{km}: Maximum fare is{₹}18,000.
The thing is, this applies to all bookings—direct airline sites, online travel agents, those too. They will stay in place until prices stabilize or the ministry says otherwise.
The Compliance Orders
This isn’t just about price caps. The ministry issued stern warnings and compliance orders, directly aimed at the airlines—and IndiGo specifically—for failing to manage the fallout from the FDTL rules chaos.
No Rescheduling Fees: Passengers affected by cancellations or delays absolutely cannot be charged a rescheduling fee.
Refund Deadline: All refunds for flights disrupted by the crisis must be processed by 8{pm} on Sunday. Any delay will trigger regulatory action.
Dedicated Support: IndiGo has been instructed to set up dedicated support and refund teams proactively. They also have to keep an automatic refund system active until stability is fully restored.
Baggage: And here’s the kicker—all misplaced or delayed baggage must be tracked and returned within 48{hours}.
The ministry noted it took “serious note of unusually high airfares” and warned against “opportunistic pricing.” This intervention is a hard reset on the market, but the true measure of its success will be whether IndiGo can actually hit that December 10–15 stability timeline they promised the DGCA. It’s an ongoing effort, that’s for sure.
End……
