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Pavneet Singh Chadha
Tribune News Service
Mohali, January 18
Airfare of Delhi and Chandigarh flights has shot through the roof, with certain flights costing over Rs 5,500 for a one-way ticket, following the announcement of curtailment of operations at the Chandigarh International Airport between January 18 and 26.
Typically, fare for a one-way Chandigarh-Delhi trip is in the range of Rs 1,500-Rs 3,000. The fare for the coming week has almost tripled, with an afternoon flight to Delhi costing between Rs 4,500 and 6,000 on January 22, 23 and 24. On Monday (January 22), all flights to Delhi are priced between Rs 3,600 and Rs 5,900 with the exception of one Jet Airways noon flight, priced at Rs 8,000.
On Tuesday, airline operators, including Air India, Vistara and Jet Airways, had cancelled one flight to Delhi each while two domestic flights had to be rescheduled due to airspace restriction at the IGI Airport in Delhi in the wake of the Republic Day rehearsals. This has reduced the number of flights operating to Delhi from 12 to 9 in a day.
Air India local station manager RK Negi said: “Air traffic between Delhi and Chandigarh is considerable. Delhi is the epicentre for several connecting flights. So, air fares have risen. But for the convenience of passengers who had already booked their flight, we offer full refund or arrange for a cab to the destination.”
Another airport official said the rise in fares was a temporary phenomenon and the fares would normalise when normal operations resume.
“Airfares are determined through a flexi-fare system in which the base fare increases by a certain percentage with every booking. Fares vary depending on whether a flight is overbooked, demand, excess capacity, time period (peak or lean) and input costs,” the official said.
According to the NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) issued to the airport authorities, no commercial flights would be allowed to take off or land at the Delhi airport from 10.35 am to 12.15 pm for seven days between January 18 and 26.
Flight operations are already severely curtailed, with only 27 flights operating, following a change in watch hours due to runway repair work. The repair work includes re-carpeting and resurfacing of the runway.
The length of runway is being extended from current 9,000 feet to 10,400 feet to accommodate wide-bodied aircrafts. The airport remains open for commercial operations from 5 am to 4 pm and next month, it would remain closed for operations for 15 days from February 12. In December, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had impleaded the Railways as a party in the case on Chandigarh International Airport and asked it to explore the possibility of running additional trains from Chandigarh in view of the airport closure in February 2018.
Delhi-Chandigarh Fare
Earlier fare Rs 1,500-Rs 3,000
Fare in next week Rs 4,500-Rs 6,000
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