: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider a petition seeking capping of airfares across the country, and pass an appropriate order within eight weeks.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice G. Rohini disposed of the plea which sought a direction to the authorities to frame “guidelines so as to prevent private airlines from charging arbitrarily, irrationally and exorbitantly”.
The petition was filed by advocate Amit Sahni, who highlighted how airlines “fleece people even during emergencies, and the government is a mute spectator all through”.
“During the Jat agitation in Haryana in February, private airlines hiked their fares by 15-25 times. Even when Chennai got flooded last year, airlines cashed in on the helplessness of the citizens,” he said.
Capping of airfares in the backdrop of the passengers’ complaints of arbitrary tariff hikes was recently ruled out by the government which had said competition among airlines would take care of the problem.
In his petition, the counsel has stated “it is totally unfair on the part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Director General of Civil Aviation to state that they cannot regulate airfares, thereby letting private companies to decide fares as per their wish”.
