In March 2026, the DGCA told every Indian airline something passengers had been asking for for years: stop charging families to sit together. At least 60% of every flight's seats, free. Adjacent seats for the same PNR, guaranteed, no extra fee.
It felt like the seat-selection fee era was over.
It lasted about two weeks.
By April 2, airlines had pushed back hard enough — warning of fare hikes in the 8–12% range — that the government put the 60%-free-seats rule on hold. As of now, most of that mandate isn't in effect.
What's actually guaranteed right now
Only the older rule survived: under ATC 01 of 2024, a child 12 or under must be seated next to at least one parent or guardian, free of charge, on every Indian carrier. That protection is real and airlines have to honor it.
Everyone else — couples, siblings, grandparents, friends traveling as a group — is back to whatever the airline's seat map and fees allow.
What that means if you're flying with family
Unless your group includes a child 12 or under, there's no rule forcing the airline to seat you together for free. Standard fares often assign seats however the system likes, and "preferred" adjacent seats are still a paid add-on on most carriers. And even when you do pay, the seat map can still split you up — it happens more often than airlines like to admit, especially on flights with a lot of last-minute changes.
Bottom line: the rule that would've fixed this for everyone got walked back within two weeks. The rule that's left only covers kids 12 and under. If you're an adult flying with family, you're still on your own to sort the seat map out.
Get more control over your seat
If you've already got a confirmed PNR and your group still ended up split across the plane, you don't have to just hope a stranger says yes at the gate. CoSeat checks — before you fly — whether another passenger on your exact flight is open to swapping, so you can sort it out ahead of time instead of at 30,000 feet.