Domestic airfares soar in India ahead of festive season

New Delhi: As the festive season draws near, airfares on major domestic routes in India have surged, with prices climbing as much as 25pc for Diwali and Onam. An analysis conducted by travel portal ixigo revealed that average one-way economy fares for non-stop flights have seen significant increases, particularly on popular routes.

For the Diwali travel period from October 30 to November 5, the Delhi-Chennai route saw fares jump by 25pc to ₹7,618 compared to last year. Similarly, the Mumbai-Hyderabad route experienced a 21pc increase, with fares reaching ₹5,162, while Delhi-Goa flights now cost ₹5,999, reflecting a 19pc hike.

Rajnish Kumar, Group Co-CEO of ixigo, highlighted the rising demand for festival travel. “Popular routes like Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Bengaluru are seeing average one-way fares ranging between ₹4,000-₹5,000, reflecting a 10-15pc year-on-year increase as the festival approaches,” he said.

Onam, a major festival in Kerala, has also driven up airfares, with some routes experiencing fare hikes of 1pc to 25pc. The Hyderabad-Thiruvananthapuram route, for instance, saw a 30pc increase in fares to ₹4,102. Despite these trends, the analysis noted that airfares on certain routes have decreased, such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, where fares dropped by 27pc to ₹2,508.

"Popular routes like Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Hyderabad are seeing average one-way fares ranging between Rs 4,000-5,000, marking a 10-15 per cent Y-o-Y increase as the festival approaches," he said.

On the other hand, fares have also dropped in the range of 1 per cent to 27 per cent on certain routes for the given comparison period.

In response to concerns over soaring airfares during peak seasons, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu announced plans to introduce an online mechanism to address passenger grievances related to fare hikes.

-B