The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on September 7 a plea seeking regulatory guidelines to control unpredictable airfare increases and ancillary charges imposed by private airlines in India, as the Centre prepares to place finalised rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 before the court.
The matter is listed before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, according to the apex court’s cause list. The hearing comes after the Centre told the court on August 17 that it had fast-tracked the framing of rules under the 2024 aviation law and expected to finalise them within three weeks.
The government had placed the draft rules before the bench in a sealed cover, stating that final discussions were under way. The court had asked the Centre to place the rules before it irrespective of whether they had already been placed before Parliament.
The petition was filed by sciaol activist S Laxminarayanan, who has sought a robust and independent regulator for transparency and passenger protection across the civil aviation sector. It also seeks guidelines to address what the petition describes as unpredictable fluctuations in airfares and ancillary fees charged by private airlines.
Senior advocate Ravindra Srivastava, appearing for the petitioner, argued that existing rules would continue to operate until the new framework came into force. He questioned the effectiveness of the current regulatory mechanism and alleged that airlines were charging exorbitant fares.
The petition also raises concerns over changes to free check-in baggage allowances for economy-class passengers. It claims that airlines have reduced the allowance from 25 kg to 15 kg and introduced a single-piece check-in policy, converting a service earlier included in the ticket into an additional revenue stream. The petitioner has argued that passengers who do not use check-in baggage receive no corresponding rebate, compensation or benefit.
The case has been before the Supreme Court since last year. On November 17, the court sought responses from the Centre and other parties. During a January hearing, it flagged sharp increases in airfares during festival periods and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to file their replies.
On May 15, the court said there should be some rationalisation of airfares and asked the Centre to provide relief to flyers. The government told the bench that the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 had come into effect in January 2025 and that the corresponding rules were being prepared.
The September 7 hearing is expected to consider the Centre’s updated regulatory framework and the petitioner’s demand for stronger oversight of fares and ancillary charges. The court’s consideration will take place against the government’s assurance that the rules would be finalised within the three-week period sought from the bench.
