Chhath, wedding rush drives up airfares; traders' body urges government to act

Airfares have risen by up to 50 per cent over the past 15 days amid the Chhath festival and the upcoming wedding season, adding to the travel expenses of passengers planning to visit their hometowns.The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has written to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, seeking government intervention to curb the increase and introduce an upper limit on airfares.According to CTI, ticket prices on several routes have increased sharply, with fares on some sectors nearly doubling. The organisation said the surge has affected not only business travellers but also middle-class families and ordinary passengers who are planning to travel during the festive and wedding seasons.Chhath is expected to prompt a large number of people to travel to their hometowns, while the wedding season is set to begin on November 20. CTI said passengers are being forced to pay several times the usual ticket prices during this period. CTI Chairman Brijesh Goyal said the sudden increase in fares was putting an additional financial burden on passengers. He said airlines were charging higher prices at a time when people had limited travel options because of the festivals and wedding-related commitments. (Credits: Chamber of Trade and Industry) DELHI-PATNA AIRFARE TOUCHES RS 18,000, CTI SURVEY FINDSA CTI survey found that airfares from Delhi to several cities have increased significantly in recent days. According to the organisation, a ticket from Delhi to Patna is currently costing around Rs 18,000, while fares to Darbhanga have reached approximately Rs 20,000. The survey also found that tickets from Delhi to Mumbai are priced at around Rs 15,000, while fares to Bengaluru range between Rs 16,000 and Rs 18,000. On other routes, tickets from Delhi to Ahmedabad are reportedly costing around Rs 11,000, while fares to Hyderabad range from Rs 11,000 to Rs 15,000.Goyal said tickets on several of these routes were available at nearly half these prices just a few days ago. He said the sharp increase was making air travel unaffordable for many passengers, particularly those travelling during the festive season.CTI SEEKS AIRFARE CAPS, MORE FLIGHTS ON BUSY ROUTESIn its letter to the Civil Aviation Minister, CTI has put forward five demands to address the rise in airfares. The organisation has urged the government to intervene immediately and introduce an upper fare limit for each route to prevent airlines from charging excessive prices during periods of high demand.It has also proposed a transparent formula to determine ticket prices based on the distance covered. According to CTI, fares should reflect the distance between destinations, as the cost of a 500-km journey should not be comparable to that of a 1,500-km flight.The organisation has further sought an increase in the number and frequency of flights on busy routes, including Delhi-Patna, Delhi-Darbhanga, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bengaluru. It said additional services could help accommodate the rise in passenger demand during festivals and the wedding season.Another demand is to encourage competition in the aviation sector by facilitating the entry of two to three new airlines. CTI said increasing the number of operators would give passengers more choices and could help bring down ticket prices.The organisation said air travel should not remain accessible only to affluent sections of society. It urged the government to take steps to ensure that passengers can book tickets at reasonable prices, particularly during festivals and other peak travel periods.- Ends