As the festive season draws near, airfares on major domestic routes in India have surged, with prices climbing as much as 25% 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.
Price Hikes Across Key Routes
For the Diwali travel period from October 30 to November 5, the Delhi-Chennai route saw fares jump by 25% to ₹7,618 compared to last year. Similarly, the Mumbai-Hyderabad route experienced a 21% increase, with fares reaching ₹5,162, while Delhi-Goa flights now cost ₹5,999, reflecting a 19% 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 10-15% 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 1% to 25%. The Hyderabad-Thiruvananthapuram route, for instance, saw a 30% 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 27% to ₹2,508.
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.