IndiGo Flights Cancelled, SpiceJet And Air India Domestic Fares Soar With Rs 70,000 Per Ticket In Some Sectors

With thousands of flights cancelled or delayed amid an ongoing operational meltdown, carriers have begun aggressive surge pricing to cash in on stranded passengers.

Domestic sector tickets on several airlines now cost more than return international flight fares to the United States or Australia, travellers and booking portals reported on Friday.

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet was found charging up to Rs 80,000 for single-sector flights on key routes today, a sharp jump from normal fares of Rs 5,000 - Rs 12,000. 

Instances of Airfare Spike:

An economy class, one-way ticket for a two-stop Air India flight was listed at Rs 70,329. Furthermore, a business class ticket on a last-minute Air India connection from Hyderabad to Bhopal  with tree stops reportedly touched Rs 127,090.

A SpiceJet ticket on a route with typical fares of between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000 was observed to have increased to around Rs 38,000.

On the high-volume Delhi-Bengaluru sector, one-way economy tickets were observed ranging from Rs 21,000 up to Rs 52, 694.

Out of over 500 cancellations, Delhi Airport confirmed on Friday that all domestic Delhi flights have been cancelled today. Earlier, Delhi Airport confirmed that 225 Indigo flights, comprising both arrivals and departures, have been cancelled since the morning from the capital's hub, impacting a significant number of travellers. Chaos ensued at Mumbai airports as all Mumbai flights were cancelled till 6pm on Friday.

IndiGo's operational disruptions continued for the fourth straight day where all departing flights from Chennai were also cancelled.

Crisis also gripped Bengaluru airport as it saw 100 flight cancellations, 75 flights were cancelled at Hyderabad, 35 AT Kolkata, 26 at Chennai, and 11 at Goa. Srinagar airport also saw major flight cancellations as 9 flights were cancelled on Friday.