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DGCA orders 60% of domestic seats be free and bans family seating charges

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed Indian carriers to allocate at least 60% of seats on every domestic flight without seat-selection fees and to seat passengers on the same booking together at no extra cost. It also mandated transparent rules for pets, sports equipment and musical instruments and stricter enforcement of passenger rights.

Discovered 2026-03-17T21:15:04.706381-07:00 | 2026-03-17T21:15:04.706381-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The directive removes seat-selection fees on at least 60% of inventory, eliminating a material ancillary revenue stream carriers currently monetize and forcing adjustments to fares, product bundles or other revenue levers; it comes amid heightened DGCA scrutiny of operators (see DGCA regulatory actions) (source:73ce05d3-7a3e-4ff6-8ad7-6786e1bb8672).

  • Standardised, no-cost family seating and clearer rules for pets, sports equipment and musical instruments require operational changes to check-in, handling and revenue-management processes; this regulatory shift arrives against the backdrop of India’s broader aviation stress test and market fragility (source:f075377b-ba1e-4695-a80f-687374fbca4c).

Reported By

aviationworld.in Skift indiatoday.in Times of India Economic Times Business Standard
Sources Tracked
29
First Seen
2026-03-17T21:15:04.706381-07:00
Latest Update
2026-03-24T00:18:43.206442-07:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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