Airlines told to make all fares public

NEW DELHI: The government has tightened the noose around airlines, making it tough for them to exploit passengers by suddenly jacking up fares to exorbitant levels during crunch situations.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday ordered airlines to make their range of all-inclusive fares for every fortnight or month public. This will enable people find out if the prices on offer are not more than the highest level for travelling in that period.

Airlines will have to put up all fares on their websites or issue print ads within a week. Price changes forced by fluctuations in operating cost, increase in demand or drop in capacity must be intimated to DGCA and put up on websites in 24 hours.