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6h ago

India Notifies New Airfare Rules With Limited Emergency Intervention

The regulation adds mandatory, public itemised fares and a narrowly drawn power for the Centre to issue time‑bound directions in urgent public‑interest cases.

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While the DGCA is tasked with monitoring the tariffs established by airlines, sub-rule (6) explicitly grants the central government powers to step in when market conditions worsen significantly.
The rules have been framed under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, which replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934. (Representative file photo)

Overview

  • The Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026 was gazetted and will come into force on January 1, 2027, making the new rules legally binding.
  • Under the rules, airlines must establish tariffs based on operating costs then submit those tariffs to the DGCA and publish them on their websites for public access.
  • Carriers must show the total fare and a clear, itemised break‑up on booking pages and tickets that lists base fare, taxes, fees, cancellation charges, refund terms and any other charges.
  • The DGCA will monitor published tariffs but the final rule removed an explicit power for the regulator to issue pricing directions, leaving the Centre able to step in under sub‑rule (6).
  • Sub‑rule (6) lets the central government issue proportionate, time‑limited written directions when it determines an extraordinary public‑interest situation exists, a change that preserves market pricing while adding an emergency consumer‑protection lever.