Time to crack down on rising air ticket prices

With many countries struggling to contain the novel coronavirus, many Chinese people studying or working overseas want to return home, but are unable to do so as the number of flights has been reduced.

Worse, as a survey by the media recently found out, with tickets scarce, some agents "transferred" passengers between themselves, with each such "transfer" pushing the prices further up. Tickets that would earlier cost 10,000 yuan ($1,457) have been selling for as much as 180,000 yuan.

Many passengers thought nothing amiss about the rising prices, believing it to be "normal" market behavior－the scarcer the more expensive.

However, on April 18, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice stressing that during the pandemic all international airline tickets should be sold directly to passengers, not through agents. To prevent illegal agents from reselling tickets, it said that the names of passengers on already sold tickets could not be changed. The police in Beijing and Shanghai have set up special teams, which have arrested some suspects. When flying is the only way to travel, the ticket prices should be controlled so that ordinary people can afford them during emergencies. Such uncontrolled rise of ticket prices makes it look more like an auction.

The media have also reported that some of these agents could be insiders, meaning airline staff, and they too may have broken the law.

The CAAC notice is a good way of putting an end to these misdeeds. The police should now crack down on these agents who benefit at the people's peril.