India, Nov. 2 -- The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has notified a new set of rules that lets the Centre step into airline pricing when it judges a situation to be extraordinary and action to be in the public interest, a power that arrives amid concern over high airfares.

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2026, notified by the ministry, empowers the government to issue directions to carriers on fares. Any such instruction has to be proportionate to the circumstances and can remain in force only for the period it specifies. The notification lands amid concern over high airfares, with crude oil and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices elevated.

Rule 192 requires airlines running scheduled air services to fix fares after weighing factors includ...