The Centre told the Supreme Court its new airfare rules are final and will be notified within two weeks, ahead of a November 16 hearing.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta gave the court the update on Friday, 16 October. He said the rules are finalised and have received administrative approval.

They have not been officially published yet. The Supreme Court wants to see the final version soon.

It has asked the Centre to place the published rules before it by 16 November, when the case returns for hearing.

That date is for the next hearing, not a final decision on airline fares. The case began with a public interest petition by social activist S. Lakshminarayanan.

He says private airlines set ticket prices arbitrarily, which causes sharp jumps in fares, especially during festivals and holidays.

He wants clear rules and a regulator to make sure airlines follow them. What the rules say is not yet public.

The government has not shared whether they will fix a limit on fares, restrict price hikes or only ask airlines to be more open about pricing.

In September, the government said it did not plan to cap airfares in the holiday season, although it could advise airlines to keep prices affordable.

That comment does not reveal what the new rules contain. The matter has been moving for a while.

In August, the court asked the Centre to ground airlines that did not follow fare rules.

The Civil Aviation Ministry then told the court that airlines had been receiving office memorandums on pricing but were not following them.

The court also looked at the draft rules, which the government submitted in a sealed cover. The latest comments came on 15 October.

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said the government wants airfares to stay affordable, but sharp changes in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices make that hard.

He said the government is talking to oil marketing companies and airlines, and that airlines should prepare a clear plan to handle the challenges.

For now, passengers will have to wait two weeks to see the rules in full.

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