Hyderabad: The onset of ‘saravana masam’ on Thursday has led has sent airfares to major pilgrimage destinations soaring by 100% to 200%, according to a scan of booking portals. Travel agents said the sharp rise is driven by thousands of devotees traditionally travelling to temples across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh during the auspicious month.Perhaps that explains why a flight from Hyderabad to Madurai, the nearest airport for pilgrims visiting the Meenakshi Amman Temple and Rameswaram, is currently priced at Rs 14,000 (approx.) for a one-way journey – at least 200% higher than its usual rate of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000. Similarly, fares to Mangaluru, the closest airport for Murudeshwar temple, have climbed to nearly Rs 17,000.Their usual price ranges between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000The spike is not confined to these destinations alone. Flying to pilgrimages like Varanasi, Shirdi, Puri and Tirupati from Hyderabad too have shot up drastically. Airfares between Hyderabad Shirdi have seen going up from Rs 4,500 to over 9,500.Families, predictably, say that their cost of air travel is more than their accommodation, food and other costs now. Many are now rethinking their plans owing to sharp spikes.“We were planning to travel to Tirupati this Friday. After finding tickets on at least 10 trains sold out, I checked flight options, expecting fares to be around Rs 5,000–7,000. But I was shocked to see fares ranging between Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000. For my wife and me, the round-trip flight tickets alone would have cost around Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000,” said Katta Srinivas Rao.Travel agents say this is an unusual phenomenon. “Since the Gulf war, airlines have rationalised their domestic operations and reduced capacity, leaving passengers with fewer flight options. This capacity constraint, coupled with the sharp seasonal surge in demand, has tightened seat availability and pushed airfares sharply higher. Moreover, domestic packages turned expensive by 30% to 50%,” said Nagesh Pampati, president, Travel Agents Association of India (Telangana and AP chapter).Meanwhile, airfares to nearby metros Chennai and Bengaluru shot up from the usual Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, owing to Independance Day weekend. Surprisingly, flying farther to Delhi is cheaper, with fares ranging between Rs 6,000 and Rs 12,000. Mumbai, too, is relatively affordable, though fares start at around Rs 7,000 and go up to Rs 18,000.
