New Delhi has become the epicenter of a major travel crisis as a wave of flight cancellations by budget carrier IndiGo sends airfares on rival airlines skyrocketing. Passengers across the country are facing exorbitant prices and limited options as they search for last-minute alternatives on routes traditionally dominated by India's largest airline.
Sky-High Ticket Prices on Major Routes
The immediate impact is being felt most acutely on India's busiest air corridors. For travel this Sunday, one-way economy tickets on the Delhi-Mumbai sector, excluding IndiGo, are ranging from a staggering Rs 21,577 to Rs 39,000. The Bengaluru-Kolkata route is seeing tickets priced between Rs 20,000 and Rs 23,000, while a seat from Chennai to Delhi is costing around Rs 21,000.
This price surge is a direct result of a severe supply crunch. IndiGo commands a massive 64% share of the domestic market. The remaining carriers—Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air—collectively control just 36% of capacity. When a significant portion of IndiGo's schedule is disrupted, passenger demand concentrates on this smaller pool of available seats, causing fares to spike based on classic supply and demand dynamics.
Regional Routes Hit Even Harder
The fare inflation is even more pronounced on regional routes, where options are fewer. For a Sunday flight from Udaipur to Delhi, one-way economy fares on non-IndiGo carriers are between Rs 15,367 and Rs 26,406. The Udaipur-Mumbai route is witnessing jaw-dropping prices from Rs 24,000 to Rs 35,000.
This has left travelers like Mahima Shukla, a Chartered Accountant based in Delhi, in a difficult bind. She flew to Udaipur on Friday via Air India Express and was scheduled to return Sunday on an IndiGo flight. "I am trying to cancel that ticket as I have to be in office Monday," she said. "Udaipur-Delhi on other airlines costs upwards of Rs 21,000. This is a double whammy."
Operational Disruption and Traveler Anxiety
IndiGo has communicated to affected passengers that it expects to resume normal operations between December 10 and 15. In the interim, seats on its few available flights in the coming days are priced at roughly half that of its competitors, but come with the uncertainty caused by the ongoing operational disruptions.
The situation has severely shaken traveler confidence. A Delhi-based businessman described the crisis as "possibly the worst phase in Indian aviation in many years." He added, "While fares are skyrocketing, our confidence levels have nosedived." The sentiment underscores a broader anxiety about reliability and planning in the domestic travel sector.
The current scenario highlights the market's vulnerability when a single player with overwhelming dominance faces operational hurdles. Until IndiGo stabilizes its schedule next week, passengers are likely to continue grappling with limited choices and painfully high airfares.
