Airfares to Goa soar as airlines cut flights amid fuel price rise

Panaji: As airlines have reduced flight runs, pointing to increase in aviation turbine fuel costs, airfares to Goa have begun to shoot up. It will especially cause dismay among travellers looking to holiday in Goa during the long weekends this year. Though on most routes the prices have not been hiked for the immediate dates, the cost of air tickets on many routes has already touched Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per flight ticket for the Oct 2 weekend, Dussehra, Diwali and the first week of Dec.

Airlines have hiked fares months ahead of year-end holidays.

On routes like Kolkata, the immediate increase may seem minor, with fares ranging from Rs 7,500 to Rs 9,000 in June, as against around Rs 6,500 earlier. But airlines have hiked the price of a ticket to Rs 11,000 to Rs 12,000 already for Oct on the Kolkata-Goa route, when numbers from the city peak due to Durga Puja holidays.

Airfare to fly from Bhopal to Goa for the Oct 2 weekend is already Rs 19,000, that too for a flight with a layover in Mumbai, with no direct flights available on the route now. Even during the monsoon, fare on the route is Rs 6,000 onwards.

Airfares on routes like Chandigarh have surged to Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 even during the monsoon weekends, as this is one of the key routes on which operations have been cut down.

Flights from Delhi, which are still available at Rs 5,000 during the monsoon, are already priced at Rs 8,500 to Rs 9,500 around the Oct 2 weekend, around Diwali and in the peak season of Dec, which is still months away. Holidayers will either have to brace to spend much more for a vacation in Goa due to the air fares, or the cost may put off travellers headed for Goa for the upcoming tourist season.

For flights on the Chennai route, the air tickets are priced at Rs 6,500 to Rs 9,000 already around the Oct 2 weekend and in Dec. The same ticket is available for Rs 4,000 during the monsoon.

In the case of Ahmedabad too, the prices have touched Rs 6,200 to Rs 6,700 already during these upcoming peak travel periods. The fare on this route is Rs 4,200 during the monsoon off-season.

Similarly, airfare on the Mumbai route is up to Rs 4,000, but already hiked to Rs 6,000 and above to fly into Goa for the Oct 2 weekend or around Dussehra and Diwali holidays.

Only on the Bengaluru route, due to availability of flights, the fares are still between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 even during the upcoming weekends and peak season.