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.