New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- "Don't travel by air," the Supreme Court said on Monday while declining an urgent hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) that claimed a 700% surge in airfares ahead of Diwali. Prices have not surged as much as the litigant claimed, but Indians have quit air travel like never before-and domestic air traffic data lays bare the scale of the decline. In fact, compared to the pre-pandemic levels, domestic air traffic is in a worse shape than international traffic, suggesting that the price increases have had a much deeper impact on domestic air travel than disruptions caused by the West Asia war on international travel beyond the initial months.

India's domestic air passenger traffic has been under intense pressure...