Average domestic airfares rose 20.5% in June as fuel and operating costs climbed

India’s aviation ministry said average fares across 72 domestic sectors increased 20.5% in June 2026 versus March 2025, citing higher aviation turbine fuel, forex, tax and aircraft-lease costs. DGCA is monitoring fares on 78 routes.

— Filed Mon, 27 Jul, 2026, 16:45 IST · Source Business Today · Latest · Updated

India’s aviation ministry said average fares on 72 domestic routes rose 20.5% in June 2026, driven by fuel, forex, tax and lease costs. DGCA monitors fares on 78 routes, while the government capped ATF increases and introduced cost-reduction measures.

Why this matters

The fare increase adds pricing oversight to DGCA's recent pattern of regulatory scrutiny, following signals on conflict-of-interest disclosures involving airline-linked relatives and the eGCA incident-reporting digitisation push.

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