Air fares fluctuate widely as govt removes cap on domestic tickets

Bengaluru: With the union government lifting the domestic airfare cap of Rs 18,000, flight charges have been constantly fluctuating, say travellers and travel
agents. 

Early trends indicate fares from Bengaluru continue to increase on high-demand routes like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. 

The cap was originally enforced in December 2025, during the Indigo crisis.

It was recalled by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to aid airlines as they grapple with surging fuel costs and operational hurdles like frequent rerouting, amid the West Asia conflict. 

As of Thursday, ticket prices on the Bengaluru–Delhi route have risen by Rs 1,500–Rs 3,000, while Bengaluru–Mumbai and Bengaluru–Hyderabad sectors have seen hikes of Rs 800–Rs 2,000, depending on demand and timing, with fares on some routes almost doubling in a day. 

“We mostly focus on corporate bookings. When a client gets in touch with us, by the time we send them a quotation and they get back to us, in a matter of 10 minutes, the fare increases by Rs 2,000. We’re having to do a back-and-forth with the customer constantly,” said Sudhir Balan, manager at Prestige Travellers. 

An algorithm-related price hike is usually limited to Rs 500, he added.

“When you check a particular route more than twice, it is common for the prices to go up by about Rs 500-700, but a jump of Rs 2,000 in 10 minutes is uncommon. This started happening as soon as the domestic airfare cap was removed,” he added. 

“During summer, beach destinations like Andaman and Goa are always in demand. From Bengaluru, the fare to Andaman is currently between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000, compared to the regular fare of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000”. 

Fares to Goa have been hiked from Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000. Airfares to Northeast are also rising as we speak,” said Shamanth Krishnamurthy, proprietor, Sanman Travels. 

Kiran B, a Yelahanka resident, shared how flight prices more than doubled in just 24 hours. 

“My wife and I were planning to travel to Bhubaneswar on April 10. Originally, the airfare was around Rs 6,500 to Rs 7,000 on March 24, but when we finally decided to book the flight the next day, the fare for the same route had crossed Rs 14,000,” he said. 

Another family planning a trip from Bengaluru to Ladakh in summer noticed a hike of Rs 4,000 in the airfare in a matter of four hours on March 24. 

“The summer season is when most of India’s leisure travel takes place, so the prices are already on the higher side. With the cap removed, the prices are only set to rise higher. Between last year’s and this year’s domestic airfare, we’re already seeing a minimum hike of 10%. This will increase in coming weeks,” said Rohit Hangal, director, Sphere Travelmedia and Exhibitions. 

Earlier this month, the ministry directed the directorate general of civil aviation to implement free seat selection rule, offering at least 60% of seats across flights free of seat-selection charge.

This is likely to make flying costlier in the coming days, as airlines have pushed back on the directive.