India’s aviation sector, poised to become the world’s third-largest market, faces significant challenges due to insufficient data-driven oversight. In December 2025, IndiGo, the country’s largest airline, experienced an operational crisis that led to increased fares nationwide. This incident highlighted the urgent need for robust data systems to monitor the market effectively.
In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Civil Aviation imposed temporary price caps on domestic flights. Concurrently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), prompted by the Competition Commission of India, sought average fare data from major airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa, for early December 2025 to investigate potential market dominance abuse.
While these measures provided immediate consumer protection, they underscored a broader regulatory gap. Without a consistent analytical framework to evaluate fares over time, distinguishing between legitimate demand-driven spikes and market power abuse remains challenging. Learning from the United States’ Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), which maintains the comprehensive DB1B database, could guide India’s efforts.
The DB1B database provides detailed ticket-level data, including fares and itineraries, for a random sample of domestic tickets, offering a transparent view of the market. Adopting a similar system in India could enhance the DGCA’s role from merely tracking passenger volumes to actively monitoring market behavior, akin to a speed camera’s preventive role on highways.
Greater transparency in fare data would encourage airlines to self-regulate their pricing algorithms, reducing opportunistic and algorithm-driven price spikes. This shift is crucial as public scrutiny and legal challenges, such as the ongoing Public Interest Litigation in India’s Supreme Court, demand accountability.
Historical pricing data would also bolster research and policy development. For instance, the ‘Southwest Effect’ in the U.S. illustrates how low-cost carriers entering new routes can lower average fares and increase passenger traffic. A similar dataset in India could reveal competitive behaviors across different routes and market conditions.
Implementing a 10% random sampling framework for fare data collection in India would balance transparency with proprietary concerns. This approach would not significantly burden airlines while ensuring that the DGCA and the public can monitor market trends effectively. By releasing data with a quarterly delay, immediate fare alignment risks are minimized, supporting long-term policy planning.
To achieve this, the DGCA must transition from reactive fare caps to a proactive data-first framework, allowing algorithms to compete under regulatory and public scrutiny. This move would mark a new era of transparency and market stability in India’s burgeoning aviation sector.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, February 18th, 2026
Follow SouthAsianDesk on X, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business and current affairs from across South Asia.
