While removing caps, the government has urged airlines to maintain pricing discipline, ensure transparency, and avoid excessive fare surges during peak demand or disruptions. The earlier caps ranged from ₹7,500 to ₹18,000 depending on route distance.
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KRISHNAN VV
The move follows airlines’ requests for a rollback amid rising operating costs driven by the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
The withdrawal will come into effect from Monday.
Ministry cites normalisation of operations
In its order on Saturday, the civil aviation ministry said that fare caps were introduced to safeguard passenger interests during flight disruption in December. It said the prevailing situation has since stabilised with the restoration of capacity and normalisation of operations.
Advisory on responsible pricing
While withdrawing the fare caps, the ministry has asked airlines to exercise pricing discipline and act responsibly. “Airlines shall ensure that fares remain reasonable, transparent and commensurate with market conditions and that passenger interests are not adversely impacted, “ the ministry said. It added that any instance of excessive fare surges during peak demand or disruption will be taken seriously.
Details of earlier fare caps
The cap had been set at ₹7,500 for routes up to 500 km, ₹12,000 for sectors between 500 and 1,000 km, ₹15,000 for routes between 1,000 and 1,500 km, and ₹18,000 for sectors above 1,500 km.
However, the fare cap did not apply to business-class travel or to flights operated under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN.
Published on March 21, 2026