- Monday, March 03, 2025
In the wake of the Kumbh Mela, airfares for flights to Prayagraj has surged due to a steep rise in demand
By: India Weekly
WITH passengers shelling out exorbitant airfares for Prayagraj flights, the civil aviation ministry on Wednesday (29) asked airlines to maintain reasonable ticket prices.
The development also came on a day when Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said airfares for Prayagraj flights are “exorbitantly high” and urged aviation watchdog DGCA to take steps to reduce the prices.
The country’s largest carrier IndiGo has reduced the fares to the city in the range of 30-50 per cent, sources said. There was no comment from the airline.
In the wake of the Kumbh Mela and resultant travel demand, airfares have surged for flights to Prayagraj and the civil aviation ministry had asked airlines to rationalise the ticket prices.
On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, along with Secretary V Vualnam, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) Director General Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, and senior officials met airline representatives regarding Prayagraj flights.
They reviewed the adequacy of air connectivity to Prayagraj from across the country while maintaining reasonable fares during the Maha Kumbh till February 26, the ministry said in a post on X.
In a post on X, Naidu also said he met airline representatives to review the adequacy of air connectivity to Prayagraj country while ensuring reasonable fares during the Maha Kumbh.
IndiGo’s fares for Delhi-Prayagraj flights from February to 16 is over ₹13,500. For January 31, the ticket price is over ₹21,200, as per its website.
Currently, IndiGo operates services from Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad to Prayagraj.
An Air India spokesperson said the airline is ramping up capacity to Prayagraj.
“We have introduced a special daily service from Mumbai on 28 January and are adding a second daily service from Delhi starting February 1,” the spokesperson said.
Air ticket prices are deregulated in the country and there is no cap or floor for the fares.
Earlier in the day, Joshi said the airfares being exorbitantly high has made it difficult for people to make travel plans to attend the Maha Kumbh.
“Keeping consumers interest in mind, we have written to @DGCAIndia to take steps to reduce the prices of the air fares,” he said in a post on X.
There were no immediate comments on the Prayagraj flight airfares from Air India, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet.
On Monday, the civil aviation ministry said steps are being taken to rationalise airfares for flights to Prayagraj and the number of flights has been increased to cater to the rising traffic demand.
Currently, there are 132 flights operating with about 80,000 monthly seats to Prayagraj from various Indian cities.
