Parliament Question: Surge in airfares on India–West Asia routes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3388 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 23rd March 2026 SURGE IN AIRFARES ON INDIA-WEST ASIA ROUTES 3388. SHRI SANJAY RAUT Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) whether Government has taken note of reports that airfares between India and major West Asian destinations such as Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Muscat have increased three to four times in recent weeks; (b) whether Government has assessed the reasons for this sharp increase, including war- risk insurance premiums, aviation turbine fuel price volatility and flight rerouting due to regional conflict; (c) whether any regulatory mechanism exists to prevent excessive fare escalation during such crises; and (d) the steps being taken to protect Indian passengers, particularly migrant workers, from abnormal fare hikes? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol) (a) to (d) Airfares are market driven and under the provisions of Rule 135(1) of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, airlines are free to fix tariffs, having regard to all relevant factors, including cost of operation, characteristics of services, generally prevailing tariff etc. The airline fare system runs in multiple levels (buckets or Reservation Booking Designators) which are in line with practice being followed globally. The fares are fixed by airlines keeping in mind the market, demand, seasonality, prevailing international scenarios and other market forces. The airfare increases with increase in demand of seats as the lower fare buckets get sold out faster and move to higher fare buckets. DGCA's Tariff Monitoring Unit (TMU) ensures that the fares being charged by the airlines are as per the tariff established by the airlines. ******