‘Don’t travel by air’: Supreme Court refuses urgent hearing on plea alleging 700% airfare hike

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 2, 2026: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant an urgent hearing to a petition alleging a nearly 700 per cent hike in airfares, with the bench telling the petitioner, "Don’t travel by air."

An advocate mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh.

"The aviation fare has increased by 700 per cent," the advocate submitted.

"Don’t travel by air," the bench remarked.

The advocate responded that air travel was an essential service and argued that the steep hike amounted to a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is already hearing a separate petition filed by social activist S Laxminarayanan, seeking the establishment of a robust and independent regulatory mechanism to ensure transparency and protect passengers in the civil aviation sector.

The petition also seeks regulatory guidelines to curb "unpredictable fluctuations" in airfares and additional charges imposed by private airlines in India.

During the hearing on October 16, the Centre informed the apex court that administrative approval had been granted to the rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, aimed at regulating the aviation sector. The rules were expected to be published within two weeks.

The court had directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to place the notified rules before it during the next hearing scheduled for November 16.

Earlier, on August 17, the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that it had expedited the process of framing rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam to modernise India’s aviation sector.

In November last year, the apex court had sought responses from the Centre and other concerned authorities on Laxminarayanan’s petition.

During a hearing in January, the court had expressed concern over unpredictable airfare fluctuations, particularly the sharp increase in ticket prices during festive seasons.

Terming the exorbitant fare hikes by airlines as "exploitation", the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file their responses to the petition.