DGCA directs airlines to cap fares and add more flights to manage festival

New Delhi: With the festive season already underway, following the conclusion of Dusshera celebrations and with Diwali and other festivals around the corner, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stepped in to oversee and manage airfares. The DGCA has a mandate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to engage with airlines to monitor the excessive fare surges and meet rising passenger demand. In its directive, the DGCA has asked airlines to increase capacity by deploying additional flights during the high-demand festive season.

• Air India and Air India Express will be deploying about 486 extra flights across 20 sectors. 
• SpiceJet is slated to operate 546 additional flights across 38 sectors. 
• IndiGo will add approximately 730 additional flights across 42 sectors.

Airfares have seen significant hikes in some previous instances, necessitating the DGCA's intervention. The instances are as follows:

Previously, during the Prayagraj Mahakumbh, airfares to Prayagraj soared fivefold from around Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 on certain Delhi–Prayagraj routes. The DGGA had to intervene, ensuring 81 additional flights to ease pressure. 

According to a report by The Times of India, airfares ahead of Dussehra and Diwali had previously seen a rise of up to 200 per cent on key routes from Hyderabad. To cite an example, the airfare from Jaipur saw a considerable hike from Rs 7,000 to Rs 13,000, and from Delhi it jumped to Rs 8,000-12,000 from Rs 4,500-8,000.

During Ganesh Chaturthi, tickets to Patna witnessed a price surge of about 50 per cent, with prices on some routes, such as Mumbai-Patna, increasing from Rs 6,000 to Rs 16,500, and Delhi-Patna rising to Rs 12,000 from Rs 4,000. 

'According to industry assessments, domestic airfares typically climb by about 10–25 per cent on key routes during festive seasons. For Diwali 2025, however, ticket prices were reported to have increased by as much as 52 per cent compared to the previous year, a spike attributed to strong travel demand.