Hyderabad: Flying home this Diwali could cost Hyderabad passengers more than flying abroad. With domestic airfares surging nearly a month ahead of the festival, tickets to Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok are now cheaper than fares to several Indian cities.
“It is shocking to see domestic tickets costing over Rs 15,000-17,000 for a one-way journey to Lucknow. Around 600 special trains are being operated for the festive season, SCR said. The Charlapalli-Hazrat Nizamuddin special (07021) had 608 vacant berths on Oct 19 and 632 on Oct 26. The Charlapalli-Tiruvannamalai special had 257 vacant berths on Oct 13, with availability rising to 656 on Oct 20 and 701 on Oct 27.
With limited seats, fares are naturally shooting up,” said Abdul Majeed Faheem of the Travel Agents Federation of India (Telangana and AP Chapter). Passengers said the fares had become unaffordable. Families who have to travel during Diwali have little choice but to pay the inflated fares,” said Saurav Sinha, an IT professional from Madhapur.
With Diwali still weeks away, travel agents expect fares to rise further as demand picks up. A similar trend was witnessed during Dasara, when domestic airfares from Hyderabad remained unusually high. Travel agents attributed the surge to limited flight availability amid uncertainty in the Middle East. There is a clear mismatch between supply and demand. Most people travel to their hometowns during the festival, and flights are filling up rapidly. At these prices, travelling abroad is actually cheaper. With the festive travel season approaching, South Central Railway (SCR) has deployed several special trains connecting Telangana with destinations across north, south, east and west India. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Hyderabad | Silver Rate in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad | Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Petrol Price in Hyderabad | Diesel Price in Hyderabad | CNG Price in Hyderabad | LPG Price in Hyderabad