This Diwali, airfares for non-stop flights from Mumbai to northern states have skyrocketed, causing travelers to dig deep into their pockets.
Northern destinations like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand have seen exceptionally high airfares, leaving passengers with little choice but to shell out significant sums for their festive journeys.
Ranchi and Raipur, in particular, have emerged as the costliest destinations, with return fares from Mumbai touching an astonishing Rs 40,000 during the latter half of October. Even journeys to cities like Prayagraj, Patna, Lucknow, Gaya, Darbhanga, and Agra are costing passengers upwards of Rs 30,000.
On the flip side, travelers heading to popular southern cities such as Goa, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, and Hyderabad are enjoying more budget-friendly options, with return fares still under Rs 10,000, even as Diwali approaches rapidly.
The reason behind this stark contrast in pricing boils down to supply and demand. Airlines are running fewer flights from Mumbai to the north compared to southern cities, and this scarcity was a clear sign that Diwali fares to the north would be on the higher side. To put it in perspective, on September 1, the cheapest return fare for Diwali travel on non-stop flights from Mumbai to Patna was priced at Rs 35,000, though it has now dropped to Rs 33,000.
For travelers heading north, the wallet-friendly option might be to choose a flight with a layover in Delhi. Since most airlines, including those based in Mumbai, use Delhi as a hub, transit flights to northern destinations are often 40-50 percent cheaper than non-stop options, especially during the peak travel season.
Gaurav Patwari, VP – air category at Cleartrip, shed light on the top three metro-to-non-metro domestic flight routes during Diwali in terms of bookings: Delhi to Lucknow, Mumbai to Patna, and Chennai to Kolkata. He noted a significant increase in domestic bookings for Diwali travel this year, with a rise of about 28.4 percent compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the demand for air travel from Mumbai during Diwali has seen a robust increase of around 16.6 percent compared to last year.
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