Air, bus fares soar as festive rush peaks ahead of Diwali

With Diwali just days away, travel costs have soared across the board, with airfares and inter-state bus prices shooting up as thousands prepare to head home for the festival.

Last-minute flight tickets are selling at two to three times their usual rates on several key routes, while train waitlists have stretched into the hundreds and private bus operators have hiked fares steeply, citing heavy demand and limited availability.

Festive rush fuels fares

As per media reports, between October 17 and 18, just days ahead of Diwali (October 21 and 22), airfares on several routes from Hyderabad to major cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Nagpur, Patna, Guwahati, Jaipur, and Chandigarh nearly doubled from their usual rates.

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Airfares from Chennai to major Indian cities have skyrocketed ahead of the Diwali rush, with ticket prices increasing several fold compared to normal rates. A flight from Chennai to Delhi, which earlier cost around Rs 5,933, is now priced at a staggering Rs 30,414. Similarly, fares to Mumbai have surged from Rs 3,356 to Rs 21,960, while a ticket to Kolkata has jumped from Rs 5,293 to Rs 22,169. Travellers bound for Guwahati are now paying about Rs 21,639, up from Rs 6,499. Fares on routes like Hyderabad–Jaipur have also jumped from around Rs 6,000 to Rs 13,000-17,000

Similarly, tickets on the Hyderabad–Nagpur and Hyderabad–Kolkata routes, which generally cost between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000, are now priced between Rs 12,000 and Rs 17,000. Likewise, fares on Hyderabad–Delhi flights, typically in the Rs 6,000–9,000 range, have risen sharply to Rs 9,000–19,000.

DGCA directive falls flat

The steep hikes have drawn scrutiny from aviation regulators, but efforts to contain prices appear ineffective. On Wednesday (October 15) afternoon, tour operators said a one-way economy-class ticket from Mumbai to Kolkata for a Thursday evening flight was selling for over Rs 27,000, compared with the usual Rs 7,000–8,000, while business-class seats on the same service were fetching about Rs 70,000, more than double the typical Rs 30,000–35,000.

Tickets from Bengaluru to Kolkata, which usually cost Rs 7,000–8,000, had climbed to Rs 15,500 on Thursday and Rs 18,500 for Saturday. From Delhi to Kolkata, fares rose from about Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000, while passengers flying from Hyderabad to Kolkata were paying upwards of Rs 18,000 for a one-way journey.

On routes like Indore–Delhi and Indore–Mumbai, economy fares that typically cost Rs 4,000–6,000 have risen to Rs 12,000–15,000. Airlines cite a sharp rise in passenger demand and full bookings as the reason for the increase.

Despite the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) directions to cap fares and increase flight capacity during the festive season, airfares have continued to soar across major routes. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had earlier instructed the DGCA to monitor ticket prices and step in if rates spiked. However, even as airlines informed the regulator that they were adding over 1,700 additional flights to meet the surge in demand, prices remain significantly elevated ahead of Diwali.

Bus travel costs surge

The scenario is no different when it comes to road travel. Bus fares from Chennai to key Tamil Nadu cities such as Coimbatore, Madurai, and Trichy have witnessed a steep surge ahead of Diwali, with ticket prices climbing well beyond normal rates. As per reports, on Sunday (October 12), tickets for AC sleeper buses to Coimbatore, Madurai, or Trichy were priced between 400 and 1,000. But for the festive weekend starting Friday (October 17), fares spiked to Rs 1,800–4,200 for the same routes.

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Even as public transport agencies work to manage the festive rush, private bus operators have sharply increased fares, in some cases charging up to three times the usual rates based on demand and destination. For instance, a sleeper coach ticket from Pune to Nagpur, typically priced around Rs 1,200, is now selling for over Rs 3,000.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website faced a major outage as thousands of users tried booking train tickets ahead of the Diwali and Chhath Puja rush. According to Downdetector, around 48 per cent of users reported problems accessing the website, 37 per cent faced glitches on the mobile app, and 14 per cent encountered issues during the booking process.

Together, the soaring airfares, surging bus ticket prices, and overloaded railway systems underline how India’s transport network strains under festive demand year after year.