The cheapest return fare available for travel from Mumbai on non-stop flights during the Diwali week to destinations such as Srinagar, Bagdogra and Patna was priced at Rs 35,000 and above.
Diwali is just around the corner and airfares of some of the popular routes are skyrocketing. It has been claimed that the sudden spike in airfares is mainly caused by the high demand and less availability of airlines. Going by the data on record this year, the normal price range of flights have been gone up by up to 282% this festive season.
The return ticket for a direct flight from Ahmedabad to Kochi costs an incredible Rs 57,000 per person, while a ticket to Bagdogra, which connects to flights to the Northeast, costs Rs 45,000 per person. When booking a week in advance, the cost of a return ticket to Chandigarh might be as much as Rs. 35,000, compared to Rs. 10,000, according to a report in TOI.
The cheapest return fare available for travel from Mumbai on non-stop flights during the Diwali week to destinations such as Srinagar, Bagdogra and Patna was priced at Rs 35,000 and above. Return fares on flights to other destinations such as Ranchi, Prayagraj, Jodhpur, Raipur and Kochi were priced at Rs 20,000 and above. From Delhi, the Rs 20,000 and above return fares were to Bagdogra, Mangaluru, Kochi and Patna.
Explaining the trend to the publication, Virendra Shah, chairman, Travel Agents’ Association of India (TAAI), said, “This time around, the overall traction for Diwali travel is significantly high. As visa issues for Europe still persist, many people are looking at far east countries and even domestic destinations. The traction for domestic destinations is particularly high. As a result, in the wake of high demand, air fares are indeed northbound.”
Flight rates in Tier 1, 2, 3 Cities
The Delhi-Srinagar route, priced at Rs 3,794 during October 21-27, 2022, has skyrocketed to Rs 7,175 for November 10 to 16, 2023. Similarly, airfares at the Delhi-Ahmedabad route have surged from Rs 3,311 to Rs 5,688 over the same span. These figures include advance purchase rates spread across more than 80 days. This is also because of the World Cup final on November 19, inbound flights to Ahmedabad from major cities and popular holiday destinations have gone up significantly.
However, the price rise isn’t confined to metro routes alone; it extends to tier 2-3 cities like Bhubaneswar, Indore, Lucknow, and Jaipur. These cities are experiencing a 5-15 percent jump in return fares from major hubs such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, driven by working professionals going to their hometowns to celebrate Diwali with their families.
