The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has termed the 'zero commission' practice followed by international airlines as illegal.

In its submission to the Competition Commission of India, in response to a complaint filed by a travel agents body, DGCA said travel agents should be compensated by the airlines directly by paying commission, which should be a part of the fare itself.

"Since a large number of airlines took similar action at the same time, it looks like cartelisation," DGCA said in its reply to CCI.

According to DGCA, international airlines need to do away with the 'zero commission system', which leads to the charging of transaction fees from the passenger as compensation to the travel agent.

The Travel Agents Association of India had approached the CCI to take action against airlines for going on zero commission in January.

The DGCA on March 5 ordered that all international carriers had to pay 'fair commission' to the accredited travel agents.

"We are hopeful that CCI will help us since it is a very efficient and independent authority," said Rajji Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India.