Supreme Court Declines Urgent Airfare Hearing as Diwali Plea Cites Tickets Near Rs 79,000

Festival fare challenge waits as new rules approach

India's Supreme Court on November 2, 2026, declined to urgently hear an application seeking temporary limits on domestic airfares during the festival season, despite a petitioner's claim that a Delhi to Kolkata ticket normally costing Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000 had reached Rs 78,694 for travel on November 6.

Justice Vikram Nath, sitting with Justices Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh, responded when advocate Abhinav raised the alleged increases and argued that air travel was an essential service protected by constitutional guarantees of equality.

Justice Nath replied to the request for an urgent hearing:

Don't travel by air. Next case.

The bench moved on without passing an order on the submission. The underlying public interest litigation remains scheduled for November 16, after the Diwali, Bhai Dooj and Chhath Puja travel period identified in the application.

The timing creates an immediate problem for passengers seeking relief: the application asks for limits during the current festival rush, while newly notified aviation rules are scheduled to take effect only on January 1, 2027. Those rules retain a system in which airlines largely set their own prices, alongside government powers to intervene in extraordinary situations.

Social activist S. Laxminarayanan filed the application on October 30 within his pending challenge to unpredictable ticket prices and additional passenger charges. He seeks temporary fare caps and an increase in the free checked baggage allowance from 15 kg to 25 kg during festival periods.

What the fare figures show

Laxminarayanan's application says fares on several major domestic routes reached between two and seven times their ordinary levels. Its Delhi to Kolkata example, Rs 78,694 against a usual Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000, represents roughly 7.2 to 7.9 times the ordinary price.

The headline allegation of a nearly 700 percent increase needs a little arithmetic. A fare rising to seven times its original amount has increased by 600 percent; an increase of 700 percent makes it eight times the original amount. The Delhi to Kolkata figures cited in the application imply an increase of approximately 615 to 687 percent, depending on which end of the usual fare range is used.

The application also compares flights on the same route and day. A Bengaluru to Delhi departure at 5 am on November 6 was listed at approximately Rs 15,901, while a departure at 3:45 pm cost Rs 40,506. The afternoon fare was about 2.5 times the morning fare.

Other examples in the application put Mumbai to Delhi fares at Rs 60,577 against Rs 11,531, and Delhi to Mumbai fares at Rs 26,793 against Rs 5,223. Both comparisons amount to prices a little more than five times the lower figure.

These are fare examples cited to support the petitioner's request. The application asks the court to act on the scale of the increases and the pressure on passengers who need to travel at particular times.

High prices extend beyond one route

Other reported fare checks during the Diwali period showed substantial increases across several routes. An Air India ticket from Delhi to Mumbai for November 7 was listed at Rs 26,560, compared with a usual fare of around Rs 5,000, an increase of about 431 percent.

A SpiceJet return flight for November 15 was listed at Rs 28,130, approximately 462 percent above its regular fare. Mumbai to Ahmedabad on November 6 was priced at Rs 12,545, around 318 percent above its usual level, while Mumbai to Patna on November 8 reached Rs 28,221, a reported increase of 303 percent.

Star Air's Mumbai to Kolhapur service on November 6 was listed at Rs 9,820 against an ordinary fare of approximately Rs 4,000. Fares to Nagpur reached Rs 21,008, a reported increase of 320 percent.

Some international tickets were listed below those domestic examples. Flights to London on November 7 were available for around Rs 25,500 through carriers including Etihad Airways and Azerbaijan Airlines, compared with Rs 26,560 for the Air India Delhi to Mumbai ticket. Listed fares to Bangkok, Dubai, Colombo, Singapore and Phuket ranged from Rs 15,000 to Rs 22,000.

Why the petitioner challenges dynamic pricing

Laxminarayanan's wider case targets dynamic pricing, in which ticket prices change as booking conditions change. Airlines use computer systems to adjust fares according to factors such as demand and the seats still available. His complaint is that this can make urgent travel unaffordable precisely when passengers have the fewest alternatives.

The application challenges fuel costs as an explanation for the fare gaps. It argues that flights serving the same route on the same day face comparable fuel requirements, yet can carry very different ticket prices. The Bengaluru to Delhi comparison is central to that argument.

Laxminarayanan accepts that higher aviation turbine fuel prices can justify some fare revision. He argues that demand has become the dominant factor and asks regulators to tie pricing more closely to operating costs and reasonable profit.

The application explains his objection in these terms:

A rise in fuel cost may justify a marginal revision, never a fare of seven times the ordinary fare

The immediate request is for temporary limits on economy fares during the current festive period and travel around the end of the year. The broader petition seeks a binding regulatory framework, greater price transparency, better complaint handling and an independent aviation regulator focused on passenger protection.

What the new aviation rules change

The Centre notified the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026, on November 1, a day before the request for an urgent hearing. The rules are scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2027, under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024.

Rule 192 requires airlines operating scheduled services to determine fares with regard to factors including operating costs and to submit tariff details to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA. A tariff is the schedule of fares and related charges an airline sets.

The framework allows the Centre to issue directions on fares when it considers intervention necessary in the public interest during an extraordinary situation. It retains market pricing rather than introducing a fixed ceiling on ticket prices.

Laxminarayanan wants a mechanism specifically addressing festival travel, when demand rises predictably each year. The new framework instead gives the government power to act in extraordinary situations while leaving ordinary fare setting largely with airlines. Whether recurring festival increases should trigger intervention is therefore a practical issue at the centre of his request.

The January start date also separates the new framework from the relief sought for November travel. Passengers purchasing tickets for the current festival period face the existing arrangements while the court considers the pending case.

The powers the application says already exist

Laxminarayanan argues that the government and DGCA already have authority to address excessive fares. His application cites Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, which requires tariffs to take account of operating costs, reasonable profit and generally prevailing tariffs.

The application also cites Section 43(2) of the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, arguing that it preserves the relevant existing rules. On that basis, it asks the aviation authorities to use their powers against excessive or predatory tariffs while a broader mechanism is developed.

The constitutional challenge concerns Articles 14, 19(1)(d) and 21. Article 14 protects equality before the law; Article 19(1)(d) protects citizens' freedom of movement within India; and Article 21 protects life and personal liberty. Laxminarayanan argues that arbitrary pricing and weak regulatory action interfere with these protections.

His petition was brought under Article 32, which allows people to approach the Supreme Court to seek enforcement of fundamental rights. It also raises concerns about pricing algorithms, additional charges and the ability of passengers to obtain effective responses to complaints.

Baggage charges add to the travel bill

The application seeks restoration of a free checked baggage allowance of 25 kg during festival periods, saying the allowance has been reduced to 15 kg. That is a reduction of 10 kg, or 40 percent, in the amount a passenger can check without an additional charge under the arrangement described in the plea.

Laxminarayanan says festival travellers carrying gifts and household goods can face excess baggage fees on top of higher ticket prices. The baggage request therefore addresses the total cost of a journey, rather than the advertised fare alone.

The wider petition also seeks protection concerning cancellation charges, refunds and other fees. During earlier proceedings, the court pressed the government to finalise rules covering these areas alongside airfare and surge pricing.

For passengers, these issues meet at the point of purchase: the ticket price determines whether a journey is affordable, while baggage and cancellation terms determine what they may have to pay after choosing it.

How the case reached this point

The litigation began in 2025 and has involved repeated court scrutiny of festival fares and the government's progress on new rules. The case is S. Laxminarayanan v. Union of India, W.P.(C) No. 1124/2025.

The main developments are:

• November 2025: The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and others on Laxminarayanan's petition.
• January 2026: The court said it would intervene over unpredictable fare fluctuations and described steep festival increases as exploitation.
• May 15, 2026: Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta called for rationalisation of fares and urged the government to provide relief.
• August 17, 2026: The Centre said it had accelerated the preparation of rules under the 2024 aviation law.
• October 16, 2026: The Centre said administrative approval had been granted and publication was expected within two weeks.
• October 30, 2026: Laxminarayanan filed his application for temporary festival fare limits and a larger baggage allowance.
• November 1, 2026: The Centre notified the new aviation rules.
• November 2, 2026: The court declined an urgent hearing.

At the May hearing, the bench had pointed to substantial differences between economy fares for the same destination on the same day. Addressing the government, the judges said:

Try to give some relief to people… on the same day, flights to the same sector… one airline charges Rs 8,000 another airline charges Rs 18,000 for the economy class

Why the next hearing matters for passengers

The November 16 hearing is the next scheduled opportunity for the court to consider the pending dispute. At the October 16 proceedings, it asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place the published rules before the bench at that hearing.

Laxminarayanan argues that timing is crucial because confirmed train tickets for festival dates are exhausted weeks in advance. His application describes passengers travelling because of illness, death or employment as well as those returning home for celebrations.

The application compares airline pricing with other regulated services. It says railway flexi fares are capped at one and a half times the base fare, essential medicine prices are controlled under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, and electricity tariffs are set by regulatory commissions. He uses those comparisons to argue for limits when passengers have little practical choice.

No temporary fare ceiling or change in baggage allowance was granted during the November 2 exchange. The immediate position is that the case continues, the requested festival relief remains undecided, and the new aviation rules have a January 1, 2027 start date.

Key Points

• The Supreme Court declined an urgent hearing on November 2, 2026, and passed no order on the submission.
• Laxminarayanan's application cites a Delhi to Kolkata fare of Rs 78,694 against an ordinary Rs 10,000 to Rs 11,000.
• The application seeks temporary festival fare caps and a 25 kg free checked baggage allowance.
• The pending case is next scheduled for November 16, after the main festival travel period identified in the plea.
• New aviation rules notified on November 1 take effect on January 1, 2027.
• The framework retains market pricing while allowing government intervention in extraordinary situations.