Kolkata, 30th September: Durga Puja has triggered unprecedented interest after receiving the UNESCO intangible heritage tag, and has subsequently pushed up fares on flights headed into the city before the festival and departing after it.
“The minimum fare from other cities to Kolkata is now twice as much as the previous maximum fare for that trip. The maximum fare is increasing dramatically since the pandemic-era fare cap that was in effect has been lifted,” stated Joydeep Mukherjee, a travel agent.
Since receiving the UNESCO intangible heritage classification, Durga Puja has drawn unprecedented attention. As a result, prices on flights entering the city before the festival and leaving after it has increased. The cheapest one-way flight from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Chennai approximately Rs 15,000–Rs 7,000. Prior to Shashthi, the minimum fare for flights out of Mumbai is over Rs. 17,000, while that out of Pune has beyond Rs. 18,000.
“However, one-way costs for nonstop flights can reach Rs 21,000, so I might have to skip the yearly trip home,” commented Uday Lahiri.
The two Navratri queries submitted by Delhi-based photographer Sutirtha Basu were declined, and he is now back in the city to celebrate the puja with his wife, dog, and friends. He and others who had previously purchased train tickets were forced to look for flights after a number of trains between Pune and Kolkata were canceled.
Bengaluru and Chennai both have minimum fares of roughly Rs 16,700 and Rs 16,000, respectively, for flights to the city. “Even though the ticket was expensive, I decided to go the other way since I wanted to go this time to Kolkata, even if my wife was wanting to go to Delhi.,” claimed Basu.
Ipsita Dey, a Bengaluru-based educator, is returning to the city with her husband and children for puja.
“This is mostly due to the enormous demand created by the UNESCO tag, the packaging of available stock, and student traffic. This request has caught us off guard,” remarked Manav Soni, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Association of India.
The inventory in the aircraft business has not yet reached the pre-Covid level, according to an expert, even though the pandemic is finished and things have returned to normal. “I’m sure that the demand will encourage airlines to increase their inventories.,” According to Anil Punjabi, the east region’s chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India.
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