Fare controls

What will the government do if airlines were to ignore its diktat on air fares? Asked the question, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has enough powers to punish airlines. What precisely were these powers, a journalist persisted. Patel said, “I have the secretary of civil aviation on one side and the director general of DGCA on the other and I’m telling you we have powers.” On the exact nature of those powers, Patel was either unwilling or unable to specify.