Holiday Rush: Airfares Soar Ahead Of Durga Puja, Diwali; Prices Skyrocket 70%

Airfares have skyrocketed as the festive season approaches, starting with Ganesh Chaturthi in late 2023. Travelers are eager to leave Delhi for leisure vacations and hometown reunions, but the surge in prices can be blamed on limited seat availability, caused primarily by Go First's suspension of operations due to bankruptcy proceedings.

Here are the airfares from New Delhi to various cities on significant dates:

September 29 (October 2 long weekend)

• Delhi to Goa: Rs 9,487
• Delhi to Kochi: Rs 7,466

Dussehra (October 20)

• Delhi to Kochi: Rs 8,316
• Delhi to Kolkata: Rs 8,473
• Delhi to Goa: Rs 8,379

Diwali (November 11)

• New Delhi to Patna: Rs 11,543
• New Delhi to Kolkata: Rs 9,208
• New Delhi to Chennai: Rs 7,288
• New Delhi to Kochi: Rs 9,063

According to a report by Mint, airfares on the Bengaluru-Kolkata route have doubled from around Rs 7,000 to Rs 14,000 compared to the previous year. Fares for the Mumbai-Kolkata route have surged by 55 percent year-on-year, while Bengaluru-Patna air ticket prices are up by 25 percent.

Overall, airfares for the upcoming festive season have witnessed a staggering increase of over 70 percent, as reported by Mint, citing Nishant Pitti, CEO, and co-founder of EaseMyTrip. He identifies the following routes as experiencing the most substantial spikes in airfares: New Delhi-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Srinagar.

Travelers hoping to beat the airfare surge by booking in advance may be disappointed, as advance bookings have skyrocketed this year. Bookings for Diwali are being made up to 30 days in advance, a surge of nearly 30-35% compared to last year, according to travel booking platform Ixigo. EaseMyTrip has also seen bookings made up to 80 days in advance.

In August 2023, India's domestic air traffic surged by 5.4% compared to August 2019, with a total of 12.4 million passengers, according to official data.