New Delhi: Come Diwali, Indian skies promise to brim with budget-friendly joy as airlines gear up to add hundreds of extra flights, curbing the usual ticket price surge during the festival rush.
In a proactive move, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed carriers to bolster services on key routes, ensuring passengers don’t shell out a fortune to reunite with loved ones.
A Ministry of Civil Aviation statement released Sunday evening highlighted ongoing monitoring of airfares from October to December — the peak season for Diwali and Christmas. “Preventing exploitative hikes is our priority,” it noted, following consultations with airlines who pledged substantial capacity boosts. IndiGo leads with nearly 730 additional flights across 42 sectors, while Air India and Air India Express commit to 486 on 20 routes. SpiceJet follows suit with about 546 extra services on 38 sectors, targeting high-demand paths like Delhi-Mumbai, Bengaluru-Chennai, and festival hotspots in the north and south.
This surge aims to match the festive travel frenzy without inflating costs, a common gripe in past years. Aviation analytics firm Cirium reports Indian carriers scheduling 22,945 weekly domestic flights this October – slightly down 2.1% from last year — but the added rotations should ease the pinch.
In a related thaw, India will resume direct flights to China in late October, a diplomatic nod after PM Modi’s SCO summit meeting with President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. This follows relaxed tourist visas for Chinese nationals, signalling warmer bilateral ties.
As lamps light up homes, these winged lifelines could make Diwali travels smoother and sweeter, letting families focus on celebrations, not sky-high bills.
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