In a major setback for flyers, India’s largest airline IndiGo has sharply increased travel fees for infants besides increasing charges for incremental services such as priority check-in, excess baggage and travel certificates.
The infant travel fee, which is applied to infants below two years of age, has been increased to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,000 since the beginning of September. As per sources, this is a periodic recalibration process taken by the airline keeping in mind the current high operation costs.
The hike in infant travel fees is likely to affect around 10 lakh infant passengers and could generate approximately Rs 90 crore in additional revenue for the airline, added sources.
Passengers carrying excess baggage are now paying Rs 800 per kg, compared with Rs 700 earlier. IndiGo has also raised its priority check-in and boarding charge to Rs 650 from Rs 450, and increased its travel certificate fee to Rs 300 from Rs 200. The fee for unaccompanied minors has been revised to Rs 5,999 from Rs 5,000, an increase of Rs 999.
Not only IndiGo, but other airlines have also revised charges for their add-on services amid a sharp surge in operating costs due to an uptick in jet fuel prices, airspace closures and weakening of the rupee. It also comes at a time when airfares in general have seen a sharp increase.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, the parent of India’s largest airline IndiGo, reported a standalone net loss of Rs 382 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1FY27) as against a net profit of Rs 2,161 crore in the year-ago period (Q1FY26).
Indigo’s aircraft fuel expenses came in at Rs 10,830 crore in Q1FY27, a massive increase of 86% year-on-year. Total expenses jumped 34.4% to Rs 25,853 crore.
