Soaring airfares come down, direct flights limited

Prayagraj: Following the conclusion of Maha Kumbh, the airfares have started coming down. Also, starting Saturday, direct flight services have been limited to specific destinations.
Airport sources said the fares that had shot up during the mega religious fair are now returning to normal.
The flight cost from Hyderabad to Prayagraj, which during Maha Kumbh was as high as Rs 25000 is now available at Rs 7,000-10,000. Likewise, the tickets for Prayagraj to Hyderabad are available at Rs 6,000.
Similarly, tickets from Bangalore to Prayagraj, which was above Rs 25000 during Maha Kumbh, are now available at Rs 6,000 to 8,000.
Sources added that operations by SpiceJet, Star Air and Air India will cease while only Alliance Air, IndiGo and Akasa will continue services.
During the Maha Kumbh period from Jan 11 to Feb 27, Prayagraj Airport witnessed unprecedented traffic with 5.74 lakh passengers and 3,464 aircraft movements, including 1,799 non-scheduled flights. The peak activity occurred on Feb 25, with 166 aircraft operations serving 27,573 passengers in a single day. From March 1, operations will be restricted to IndiGo, Akasa and Alliance Air services. IndiGo will continue direct connections to Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Bangalore and Hyderabad while Akasa will serve Mumbai, and Alliance Air will maintain routes to Delhi and Bilaspur.
Airport director Mukesh Upadhyay credited the successful handling of increased traffic to the dedication of Air Traffic Control and Air Force operations staff.
IndiGo led the operations with 1,198 flights, comprising 258 in Jan and 940 in Feb. IndiGo's airport manager Chandrakant confirmed direct services to various cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Bangalore.
Alliance Air's representative Mukesh Jaiswal reported 95% punctuality during Maha Kumbh, operating 219 flights between Jan 10 and Jan 27.