Have you been paying more for a Delhi flight? This could be a reason why
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Nov 07, 2017, 03.48 PM IST
Cancellations and rescheduling of flights due to runway closure at Delhi airport has led to an up to four times increase in last-minute fares on flights to key routes out of Delhi.
A fare check for flights on key routes out of Delhi for Wednesday, searched for on Tuesday, show that last-minute fares have spiked four times, as number of flights has reduced due to runway closure.
“Fares have spiked due to runway closure for maintenance, which is unavoidable,” said Sharat Dhall, Chief Operating Officer at Yatra.com, India’s second largest online portal. An airline official explained that the runway closure led to cancellations and adjustment for passengers booked on cancelled flights.
“So, people booked on an evening flight, which was say cancelled, were shifted to night flights. This led to filling of seats in the night flight and a demand-supply mismatch leading to spike in fares,” an airline official explained.
Source: travel portals
*spot fares for travel on Wednesday; looked for on Tuesday
Industry estimates say that due to the closure of runway 29 - the longest runway at Delhi airport and caters primarily to flights using terminal 3 - about 300 flights have been cancelled due to runway closure.
A check revealed that direct flights between Delhi-Mumbai were down to 18 from 37 flights a day. Delhi-Bengaluru saw daily direct flights reduce by 5 flights a day. Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Hyderabad saw daily direct flights reduce by 4 and 3, respectively.
One of the three runways at Delhi airport is closed for three days starting from Tuesday due to maintenance work. Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Runway 11/29 is closed from 12 AM on November 7.
During the maintenance, which will go on till 7 AM on November 10, the airfield capacity has been lowered to 45 air traffic movements per hour from 62 movements.
A fare check for flights on key routes out of Delhi for Wednesday, searched for on Tuesday, show that last-minute fares have spiked four times, as number of flights has reduced due to runway closure.
“Fares have spiked due to runway closure for maintenance, which is unavoidable,” said Sharat Dhall, Chief Operating Officer at Yatra.com, India’s second largest online portal. An airline official explained that the runway closure led to cancellations and adjustment for passengers booked on cancelled flights.
“So, people booked on an evening flight, which was say cancelled, were shifted to night flights. This led to filling of seats in the night flight and a demand-supply mismatch leading to spike in fares,” an airline official explained.
| Routes | Spot Fares* | Average spot fares |
| Delhi-Mumbai | Rs 19,564 | Rs 5,000 |
| Delhi-Bengaluru | Rs 13,959 | Rs 7,000 |
| Delhi-Kolkata | Rs 23,895 | Rs 6,000 |
| Delhi-Hyderabad | Rs 19,297 | Rs 7,000 |
*spot fares for travel on Wednesday; looked for on Tuesday
Industry estimates say that due to the closure of runway 29 - the longest runway at Delhi airport and caters primarily to flights using terminal 3 - about 300 flights have been cancelled due to runway closure.
A check revealed that direct flights between Delhi-Mumbai were down to 18 from 37 flights a day. Delhi-Bengaluru saw daily direct flights reduce by 5 flights a day. Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Hyderabad saw daily direct flights reduce by 4 and 3, respectively.
One of the three runways at Delhi airport is closed for three days starting from Tuesday due to maintenance work. Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Runway 11/29 is closed from 12 AM on November 7.
During the maintenance, which will go on till 7 AM on November 10, the airfield capacity has been lowered to 45 air traffic movements per hour from 62 movements.
