Diwali travel woes: Airfares rocket by up to 89% on major routes

Airfare to experience a significant spike throughout the Diwali season.

As the Diwali holiday week spanning November 10 to 16 nears, travellers are encountering a huge challenge: exorbitant airfare prices. Airfares have soared an astonishing 80-89 percent on well-travelled routes, disrupting travel plans during the festive season.

Drawing a comparison with last year's Diwali week (October 21-27), Nishant Pitti, CEO and Co-founder of EaseMyTrip, says. "The Delhi-Ahmedabad route alone witnessed a substantial 72 percent surge in airfare for the November 10-16 period compared to the preceding year. Notably, the Delhi-Srinagar route is experiencing an even more staggering 89 percent increase." Other popular routes, including Delhi-Mumbai and Bengaluru-Delhi, are mirroring this trend with hikes of 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively. June and July, typically lean months, have witnessed higher domestic air traffic this year.

Tier 1, 2, 3 Cities

Delving into the granular data, Ixigo points to average one-way fare comparisons that show the escalation. 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.

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.

Airfares witnessed a steep surge during the Diwali season.

Global Trends

The trend is mirrored on international routes as well, with airfares to long-haul destinations such as Zurich, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Budapest, Athens, Sydney and London undergoing a 10 percent increase. South Africa witnessed an even more notable surge of 17 percent.

Indiver Rastogi, President and Group Head of Global Business Travel at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, sheds light on airfare dynamics. “Long-haul airfares see a 10-15 percent increase compared to May-June figures, while shorter destinations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore experience a 10-15 percent uptick. Short-haul routes undergo a more pronounced surge of 15-35 percent compared to May- June 2023, primarily due to the shorter vacation season and simplified visa procedures,” he says.

With a tilt towards last-minute bookings, Rastogi predicts robust growth leading up to the festive season, with peak travel demand expected in September.

“The surge in airfares is a convergence of high demand and limited flight capacity. The impact of Go First's insolvency and SpiceJet's financial challenges has constricted available capacity, driving prices upwards due to the supply-demand dynamics,” he says.

From a demand standpoint, Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder and Group CPTO of Ixigo highlights an interesting trend. “Contrary to the norm, June and July, typically considered lean travel periods, have witnessed heightened domestic air traffic this year, surpassing the peak festive season of October 2022. With projections of further escalation in travel demand during this year's Diwali season, an anticipated increase in capacity by year-end might offer some respite from the fare pressure,” he says.

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