Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu addressed the Lok Sabha on Friday, offering a comprehensive overview of the growth trajectory of India’s aviation sector, the challenges it continues to face, and the government’s regulatory approach, particularly in times of crisis. His remarks came amid a broader parliamentary discussion on whether the government should take more active measures to regulate airfares, and just a week after the severe disruptions faced by IndiGo, India’s largest airline, which led to widespread cancellations and passenger inconvenience.

Naidu began by situating India’s aviation journey within a larger narrative of inclusivity and mass accessibility. He invoked the now-familiar slogan “Hawai chappal se hawai jahaz,” a phrase used repeatedly by the Modi government to signify how air travel, once considered a luxury, has been brought within reach of ordinary citizens. He said the emotional responses and personal accounts shared by members of Parliament during the debate demonstrated the extent to which aviation has become embedded in the lives of India’s masses. According to him, such engagement itself was evidence of the transformation brought about under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, where air travel has ceased to be an elite domain and has instead become an integral part of the country’s mobility ecosystem.

Transitioning from this broader narrative to the sector’s operational framework, Naidu emphasized that deregulation has played a central role in enabling this expansion. Deregulation of airfares, he explained, was introduced to encourage competition, invite new players into the market, and allow airlines the operational flexibility needed to innovate and scale. Over the years, he noted, several new airlines have entered the space while existing players have expanded routes and services. Although the sector has faced multiple challenges, including economic pressures, operational hurdles, and unexpected crises, it is this policy of deregulation, he argued, that has kept the ecosystem dynamic and growth-oriented.

However, he acknowledged that deregulation does not mean the government is absent or passive. The Centre, he stated, retains the authority to intervene in extraordinary circumstances, especially when passenger interests are at risk. Naidu pointed out several instances when the government had stepped in to prevent abrupt spikes in airfares or to control market volatility. These included the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prayagraj Mahakumbh, and the Pahalgam attack. Each of these events had created unique pressures on the aviation system, resulting in abnormal rises in fares or disruptions in services. In such situations, the government had temporarily capped fares or imposed regulatory measures to ensure that passengers were not subjected to unreasonable or opportunistic pricing.

The minister then turned to the recent IndiGo crisis, which had triggered the current debate on fare regulation. Beginning December 2, IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across major routes due to what Naidu described as severe capacity constraints. With a domestic market share exceeding 65 percent, disruptions at IndiGo had cascading effects on the entire aviation network. Airports across the country experienced crowding, long queues, passenger frustration, and widespread confusion. As cancellations grew, airfares on several routes surged, raising concerns that fares might soon reach levels that would place undue burden on passengers.

Naidu explained that it was precisely to prevent such a scenario that the government had intervened swiftly. Observing the rapid rise in cancellations and the resulting pressure on fares, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued an urgent directive on December 6. This order introduced caps on maximum fares, categorized by flight distance. Under the directive, airlines could not charge more than Rs 7,500 for flights up to 500 km, Rs 12,000 for sectors between 500 and 1,000 km, Rs 15,000 for distances between 1,000 and 1,500 km, and Rs 18,000 for longer routes. These caps were intended as a short-term measure to stabilize the situation and prevent opportunistic pricing during an operational crisis.

Despite this intervention, Naidu cautioned that such price caps cannot become routine or blanket measures. Addressing the core question raised during the parliamentary debate—whether airfares should be regulated throughout the year—he explained that airfares are inherently governed by market dynamics of demand and supply. In a deregulated ecosystem, these fluctuations are natural. Airfares often rise during festive seasons or specific periods when demand dramatically increases on certain routes. Naidu cited the example of Kerala during Onam, when thousands of people travel simultaneously, pushing fares up temporarily. These trends, he argued, cannot be curbed by imposing year-round caps without distorting the functioning of the aviation market.

He stressed that airfare increases are not a daily occurrence but largely confined to predictable seasonal peaks. Imposing price ceilings throughout the year, he said, would undermine the competitive forces that keep fares affordable during normal periods and would discourage airlines from increasing capacity or expanding into new routes. A balance, therefore, must be struck between market freedom and regulatory oversight. The government’s role, as Naidu described it, is to monitor the sector continually and intervene only when necessary, especially when there is evidence of tariff misuse or exploitation.

Naidu reiterated that the government’s power to regulate fares remains active but must be used judiciously. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures, but the foundational philosophy of India’s aviation policy remains rooted in deregulation. Protecting passenger interests is paramount, he said, but so is ensuring that the aviation sector remains vibrant, competitive, and capable of delivering sustained growth.

He concluded by reaffirming the government’s commitment to fostering an aviation ecosystem that balances accessibility, affordability, and operational efficiency. The goal, he said, is to ensure that India continues its journey toward becoming one of the world’s largest aviation markets, while keeping air travel within the reach of every citizen. The discussion in Parliament, he added, was not merely a debate on fares but an indication of the sector’s growing importance in India’s economic and social life.