Delhi Flight Fares Soar Up To 30% As Air India, IndiGo Announce To Slash 250 Daily Domestic Flights From June

Delhi: India's two largest airlines, Air India (including Air India Express) and IndiGo, have announced plans to cut around 250 domestic flights starting this June. As these two airlines collectively hold more than a two-thirds share of the Indian domestic aviation market, this significant reduction in capacity is expected to cause major difficulties for passengers.

The impact of the reduction in domestic flights by Air India and IndiGo is already becoming apparent at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, the country's busiest aviation hub.

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Flight Cuts Increase Demand, Last-Minute Fares From Delhi

The sudden cancellation and rescheduling of flights have increased demand for the remaining seats on flights. According to a report by Jagran.com, citing data from travel portals, the last-minute 'spot' fares for flights departing from Delhi have surged by 20 to 30 per cent compared to last week.

- Delhi-Mumbai Route: On normal days, flight fares on this route are much lower, but last-minute fares have now shot up to between Rs 12,000 and Rs 16,000.

- Delhi-Chennai And Delhi-Bengaluru Route: Economy fares on these routes have climbed to Rs 14,000-Rs 15,000. Business class fares have surpassed Rs 50,000.

- Delhi-Lucknow And Delhi-Patna Route: Even on these shorter regional routes, peak-hour tickets are now crossing Rs 7,500 to Rs 9,000.

Increased Pressure On Airport Terminals

The reduction in the number of flights has not led to a decrease in passenger traffic. More passengers are now being accommodated on fewer available flights. As a result, every flight departing Delhi is operating with Passenger Load Factor (PLF) well above 90 per cent, meaning almost every aircraft is taking off full.

This has increased pressure on airport infrastructure, with all terminals of IGI Airport experiencing larger-than-normal crowds at security checkpoints and boarding gates.

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Flight Cuts Force Travellers To Take Expensive, Time-Consuming Connecting Routes

The reduction in flights has severely impacted IGI Airport, a key transit hub for passengers across Delhi and North India, including Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh. Passengers who fly from Punjab and Haryana to Delhi for international flights, as well as those heading to major hubs like Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Chennai, are likely to be most affected.

With direct flights on these routes either unavailable or prohibitively expensive, travellers are forced to opt for connecting flights via cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, or Hyderabad. The connecting routes have extended the standard two-hour journey from Delhi to Mumbai into an eight-hour journey.

Furthermore, fares for these last-minute connecting flights remain significantly higher than normal on many routes, causing severe delays and ruining travellers' budgets.