Chhath Puja demand sends airfares sky high; flights to Bihar, Jharkhand costs more than Dubai

After Diwali, there is a surge in demand for train and flight tickets for Chhath Puja. Airfares have soared for flights to Bihar and Jharkhand from across the country with a significant rise in fares for flights to Bihar from major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Surat. 

The cost of flights to Patna and Darbhanga now exceeds fares for international destinations like Dubai, Malaysia, Bangkok and Singapore. Air fare processing between Delhi and Patna seeing huge surge ahead of Chhath Puja.  

Prices gone up multi-fold with flights between Delhi and Patna for November 4 and November 5 ranges priced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 23,000. An Air India flight for November 5 showed prices over Rs 17,000 and Rs 23,000, IndiGo has flights with price range of Rs 13,000-14,000. 

During Chhath Puja, thousands of people from across the country travel to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand resulting in packed trains. Travel agents are unable to secure tickets despite charging higher fees.  

The spike in airfares is temporary as fares are expected to normalise post-Chhath Puja. 

Spot airfares on major domestic routes had dropped by up to 32 percent for travel around Diwali driven by subdued demand and a strategic shift in airline pricing. 

According to data from travel site Ixigo, the average spot economy fare on the Bengaluru-Pune route has fallen to Rs 2,879 for travel between October 31 and November 3, down from Rs 4,232 during last year’s Diwali period of November 10-14, representing a 32 percent decrease in spot fares. These findings are based on bookings made one-three days before departure. 

Bringing cheer for travellers this Diwali season average airfares on many domestic routes had dropped by 20-25 percent compared to the year-ago period.  

An analysis by travel portal ixigo showed that average airfare on the domestic routes declined in the range of 20-25 percent. The prices are for one-way average fare on a 30 days APD (advanced purchase date) basis.