Airfares Surge for Popular Destinations Ahead of Independence Day 2024 Holiday

With the upcoming extended weekend bridging Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan, Mumbai is experiencing a sharp rise in travel demand. Popular destinations like Goa, Leh, Jodhpur, Mysore, Ayodhya, and Tirupati are seeing higher airfares, especially for morning flights on August 15. Conversely, airfares to places like Kozhikode, Srinagar, and Northeast locations have decreased.

For instance, return flights from Mumbai to Srinagar on August 15 are currently priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000, a significant drop from the Rs 25,000 fare for Diwali travel. The recent landslide in Wayanad has also influenced travel trends, with the lowest return fare from Mumbai to Kozhikode now at Rs 13,000, while flights to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are priced at Rs 20,000 and Rs 17,000, respectively. Bookings to Kozhikode dropped by 34.3% from July 31 to August 4 compared to previous weeks.

Northeast destinations, typically in high demand from September, are also available at lower prices this weekend. Round-trip fares from Mumbai to Kolkata, Bagdogra, and Guwahati start at Rs 13,400, Rs 17,000, and Rs 15,000, respectively. These rates are usually seen for one-way tickets during peak seasons when booked in advance.

Cleartrip has reported over 15,000 air bookings for the August 15 weekend, marking a 37% increase from typical weekends. ixigo's Aloke Bajpai noted a 40-50% year-over-year rise in flight bookings from August 14-20, with domestic destinations such as Dehradun, Mumbai, and Goa seeing a 40-45% increase in bookings and searches. International travel also surged, with a 60-70% increase in bookings for popular spots like Bali, Thailand, Kuwait, and Singapore.