Airfares from Hyderabad to other cities soar ahead of Navaratri

Flying to major Indian cities from Hyderabad during the upcoming Navaratri season might turn out to be an extremely expensive affair for travellers with airline operators jacking up the fares — by almost two to three times. Demand for air tickets seem to be at its peak on October 13 — two days ahead of the festival — to cities such as Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur and Indore, among others. For instance, while the regular fare between Hyderabad and Ahmedabad is not more than ₹6,000 to ₹ 7,000 (oneway) airlines are charging as much as ₹14,568 on October 13. And this is the cheapest fare of the day. If one is aiming for a non-stop flight, then the rates as as high as ₹17,000 to ₹ 30,000. Agents say that the festival, clubbed with the India vs Pakistan World Cup 2023 match scheduled at Ahmedabad on October 14, are reasons for this sharp rise in ticket fares. “I booked a flight from Hyderabad to Nagpur for my son by paying ₹9,750. We have never purchased a ticket at such high cost before. Earlier, we used to book the ticket for ₹4,000. Since all the trains and buses were packed, we had to book flight despite the exorbitant fares,” said Suleman R, a businessman. The demand for air tickets to Kolkata too seemed very high even though airlines are operating at least 10 nonstop flights from Hyderabad on October 13. The cost of tickets, as checked on Monday, were anywhere between ₹10,000 and ₹15,000. Usually, operators charge ₹ 5,000 to ₹6,500 on regular days between these two cities.