Air Ticket Price: The scramble for tickets to travel home for Diwali and Chhath has already begun. Regular train tickets are nearly sold out, and flight fares are skyrocketing. Despite this, the enthusiasm of those traveling home remains undiminished.
According to reports, flight fares have already increased for Diwali and Chhath. Flights from metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are in high demand, especially. Consequently, travelers traveling on these routes are bound to find themselves in a tight spot.
Which routes have higher demand for flights?
Shubham Kumar, director of Noida-based Eji Travel Solutions, says, ‘Now Diwali is first, followed by Chhath, so people are excited about both the festivals and this is the reason that in view of the increasing demand for flights, airlines have increased the fares.’
Shubham explained that the highest demand for flights is on the Delhi-Jaipur, Mumbai-Patna, Hyderabad-Jaipur, Hyderabad-Delhi, Bengaluru-Lucknow, Mumbai-Kolkata, Delhi-Patna, and Delhi-Varanasi routes. This is why airfares have increased on these routes. Fares will begin to rise after October 13th, but the highest ticket demand is on October 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, and 26th. These dates typically see the highest demand for tickets, which is why fares have increased several times.
There is more demand to travel from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai to UP-Bihar.
According to Make My Trip, ticket prices have increased two and a half to three times compared to normal times. While it used to cost 6,000 to 7,000 rupees to travel from Delhi to Patna, the price of a ticket on the 17th and 18th has now reached close to 10,000 rupees.
- Delhi to Patna: 9,000 -10,000
- Delhi to Gaya: 18,000- 20,000
- Hyderabad to Patna: 12,000-15,000
- Hyderabad to Varanasi: 12,000-15,000
- Hyderabad to Prayagraj: 18,000-20,000
- Bengaluru to Prayagraj: 17,000-25,000
- Bengaluru to Varanasi: 16,000-19,000
- Bengaluru to Patna: 16,000-18,000
- Bengaluru to Darbhanga: 17,000-19,000
- Mumbai to Patna: 14,000-15,000
There is also a demand for foreign travel.
Shubham Kumar reported that a large number of people have booked tickets for foreign travel for Diwali. High demand has been for Dubai, Bangkok, London, and Kuala Lumpur. Subhash Goyal, chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce Aviation and Tourism Expert Committee, said, “There has undoubtedly been an increase in airfares due to the festivals. Especially for passengers traveling from metro cities to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, fares have been higher this time. However, fares have not increased as much as they did last year.”
He explained that the fares for Ramayan flights on the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Delhi-Chennai, Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Varanasi, and Delhi-Ayodhya routes were always high. Similarly, flights from Mumbai to these destinations were also very high. This time, this is not the case. There are three major reasons for this. First, the number of domestic flights has increased significantly. Second, NRIs coming from the US are not returning home this time due to Trump’s visa policy. They fear they may not be able to return to the US again. Third, vacationing abroad has become easier because flight and hotel rates are now quite reasonable.
Goyal said, “Many people are going on vacation to Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The reason is money, because in these places, a complete hotel and flight package is available for $250, whereas in India, a hotel costs as little as $100.”
No reduction in fares even after festivals
This year, the Chhath festival falls on October 28th. Consequently, with a large number of people returning to their workplaces between October 29th and November 2nd, flight prices have also increased during this time. Flight tickets from Bihar to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad cost between ₹11,000 and ₹13,000 per person. However, these rates are current; they are steadily increasing as time passes.
Union Minister gave instructions for rent control
Recently, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, in a meeting with all major airlines, expressed deep concern over the potential arbitrary increase in airfares during the festive season. He strongly urged airlines to maintain fares at reasonable levels and ensure that there are no unreasonable or arbitrary increases during the festive season. Following the minister’s initiative, airlines have stated that passenger convenience is their priority and have assured that additional flights will be operated during the festive season. The minister also urged passengers to lodge complaints directly on the ministry’s portal, AirSewa, if they find ticket prices excessive.
You can lodge a complaint
To curb airfare hikes, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has made several improvements to its AirSewa portal. These improvements allow passengers to lodge complaints about overpriced air tickets. Union Minister Naidu also directed the DGCA’s tariff monitoring unit to ensure that airlines adhere to the prescribed fare limits. According to a release issued by the ministry, airlines assured that passenger convenience remains their top priority. It was reported that additional flights have been added on high-traffic routes to meet festive season demand.
What options do passengers have now?
However, now that airfares have risen due to festivals, people have the option of traveling by train. This year, Indian Railways is operating 12,000 special trains from different parts of the country. Special Vande Bharat Express trains are also being operated on some routes. Clone trains are also being run on several routes. According to information received from the Railways, in addition to the special trains being operated, on-demand trains will also be operated. Furthermore, several luxury buses are also running from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, allowing people to travel home for the festivals.
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