The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre and aviation regulator DGCA to “give some relief” to air passengers who are saddled with surging fares during festivals and other peak seasons.
The government sought more time to come out with fresh rules to tackle the problem.
“Why don’t you try to give some relief to people because of the discrepancy? Same day, flights to the same sector, one airline charges ₹8,000, the other airline charges ₹18,000 in economy class,” Justice Vikram Nath, heading a bench, told solicitor-general Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre and the DGCA.
The bench, which also had Justice Sandeep Mehta, made the oral observation after Mehta cited the proposed new rules with regard to airfares and flight operations that are being formulated through a consultative process under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam.
The court was dealing with a PIL filed by social activist S. Laxminarayanan seeking regulatory guidelines to control unpredictable fluctuations in airfares and extra charges imposed by private airlines during festive seasons and holidays, and now, also citing the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
“There is a new act of 2024 that has come into force. The rules are in the process of being formulated after consultation. We will consider all the aspects,” Mehta told the bench. “I am not disputing the problem, but the solution has to be by statutory rules.”
Senior advocate Ravindra Shrivastava, appearing for the petitioner, complained that the government was only trying to buy more time and the court should pass orders against the private airlines.
“There has to be some rationalisation,” the bench told Mehta.