26 July 2024
Over the last several days, Indian airlines have decided to pass on the increased cost of jet fuel to passengers, resulting in a significant increase in airfares. As demand grows, prices are projected to rise as well. The government has set minimum and maximum fares for domestic flights and these are effective for up to a fortnight. Airlines are permitted to establish their own pricing for bookings longer than 15 days. According to data given by travel portal Ixigo, for tickets purchased roughly 20 days in advance, the average one-way costs on some of the popular domestic routes have jumped by up to 30 percent in the first week of March 2022 from a month before. A ticket from Delhi to Mumbai that cost 4,055 rupees is now selling for roughly 5,119 rupees, a 26% increase. Similarly, ticket rates on the Delhi-Bengaluru route have increased by 27%, and ticket prices on the Kolkata-Delhi route have increased by over 30%.