Whopping hike in air fares have brought gloom to air travellers this Diwali season with ticket prices rising two-three folds than normally available fares, especially on the eastern sector.

Late planners have to pay through the nose to fly to their holiday destinations as the ‘dynamic fares’ charged by domestic airlines shot through the roof.

One-way flight from Delhi to Patna or Guwahati would cost Rs 26,383 and Rs 28,014 respectively, while ticket prices between Delhi and Kolkata, which cost around Rs 4,500—Rs 6,000, now range between Rs 15,000 and Rs 17,420, travel portals and airline sites showed.

A Delhi-Mumbai ticket, the price of which generally hovers around Rs 3,500, may cost as high as Rs 17,089 with the lowest cost air ticket being available at Rs 6,189. A flight between Jaipur and Mumbai for the weekend costs Rs 8,000, while that Mumbai and Lucknow is priced between Rs 9,000—16,000.

While officials maintain that the high rates were being constantly monitored by a committee in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, there seems to have been no impact on the fare levels.

The sites show that air travellers have been left with no option but to reach their destinations on hopping flights and that too, at a very high price, as most of the direct flights have been fully booked earlier itself.

A similar situation had prevailed during the Durga Puja festivities and, travel industry sources say, such high demand could be expected during the winter vacation too.

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