Passengers at Pune International Airport faced chaos and exorbitant air ticket prices on Friday, December 5, 2025, after a major scheduling disruption at IndiGo led to the cancellation of at least 46 flights. The sudden shortage of available seats caused fares on competing airlines to skyrocket to four to six times their normal rates, leaving many travelers stranded or forced to reconsider their plans.
Mass Cancellations Trigger Fare Frenzy
The crisis began when IndiGo, India's largest carrier, was forced to cancel a significant number of flights due to an internal crew-duty scheduling issue. An airport official confirmed that IndiGo alone cancelled 16 flights between 12 am and 8 am on Friday. This created an immediate supply shock in the market.
With hundreds of passengers scrambling for alternatives, airlines like SpiceJet, Akasa Air, and Air India experienced heavy overbooking. The classic dynamics of demand vastly outstripping supply took hold, resulting in unprecedented fare hikes across popular domestic routes from Pune.
Staggering Price Surge on Key Routes
The fare surge was not limited to one or two destinations but affected a wide network. On routes where tickets are normally priced between ₹5,000 and ₹7,000, passengers were quoted figures that seemed unreal.
Flights from Pune to Lucknow, Jaipur, and Varanasi were being sold for ₹24,000 to ₹30,000. The situation was equally severe on shorter, typically high-frequency routes. A SpiceJet ticket from Pune to Delhi, which usually costs ₹5,000-₹6,000, was priced at a staggering ₹24,000.
Perhaps the most shocking example was an Akasa Air flight from Pune to Bengaluru. A route known for its affordability, normally priced around ₹7,000, was listed at an astronomical ₹36,000. Air India officials reported that their fares to destinations like Lucknow and Jaipur ranged between ₹25,000 and ₹35,000.
Passenger Anguish and Disrupted Plans
The human impact of the pricing chaos was visible across the airport. Long queues formed at airline counters, especially near pillar number 8 at the IndiGo reservation centre, as passengers sought solutions.
Safina Huned, who was scheduled to fly to Dehradun for a trek, found her plans in disarray. "The check-in counter is closed. Air India and SpiceJet flights cost Rs 30-35k for a domestic flight to Dehradun. I could have booked a round-trip at this price," she lamented, highlighting the absurdity of the situation. She expressed concern for those with urgent, unavoidable travel needs.
For many, the cancellations and high fares came at a critical time. Shadab Azam, a PhD student, saw his IndiGo flight 6E 2587 from Pune to Delhi cancelled. Faced with a last-minute SpiceJet ticket priced at ₹24,000 instead of his original ₹5,000-₹6,000 fare, he was desperate. "Kuch toh karna padega, kal exam hai (I have to do something, I have an exam tomorrow)," he said.
Simran Bhutoria, another traveler aiming for Bengaluru, was stunned. "It’s astronomical. Akasa shows ₹36,000…normally, it’s ₹7,000. This is crazy," she remarked, echoing the sentiment of countless others.
A SpiceJet ground staff member summarized the scene, stating, "Flights to Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, and Dubai were overbooked within hours. Passengers are asking for any flight that’s available." The incident underscores the vulnerability of air travelers to operational disruptions in a concentrated aviation market, where the failure of one major player can send shockwaves through the entire system, directly hitting consumers' wallets.
