Flying home for Diwali, Chhath? Why airfares are painfully expensive this year

"Every year around Diwali, I check how much a flight from Mumbai to Patna is costing me, and every year, the fares manage to shock me. It feels like I could fly to London for the price of a ticket home. It has become an annual ritual now," says Anshika Bhargav, who flies to her hometown, Patna, from Mumbai, every Diwali and Chhath.Tickets to some cities in north India, where Diwali and Chhath are major festivals, are currently priced in the same range as flights to London.Like Bhargav, lakhs of people who move to big cities for work, start booking tickets to their hometowns weeks in advance. This year, that calculation could be particularly painful for those hoping to celebrate Diwali and Chhath with their families. Flight fares have surged on domestic routes due to high air turbine fuel and no cap on ticket prices. And travelling home by air has become way more expensive this festive season than in previous years.That agony was captured by a survey of citizen engagement platform LocalCircles. The survey, which received 19,993 responses from air travellers across 277 districts of India, has found that 72% of air travellers said they are paying more to travel home this year than they did in 2025. Bhargav told India Today Digital, "As the festivals approach, I check the fares, watch the prices climb, and wonder how travelling within my own country, to my own home, can become this expensive. This time, the most convenient flight from Mumbai to Patna [at 12.25 pm], costs over Rs 25,000." Flights from Mumbai to London on Diwali weekend cost around Rs 25,000. (Image: Screengrab from MMT) Tickets from Mumbai to Patna on Diwali weekend cost over Rs 25,000. (Image: Screengrab from MMT) India Today Digital checked one-way flight fares from Mumbai and Bengaluru to Varanasi and Patna for travel on November 7 — a day before Diwali. The lowest fares listed were Rs 15,926 for Mumbai-Varanasi, Rs 17,698 for Bengaluru-Varanasi, Rs 25,643 for Mumbai-Patna and Rs 26,053 for Bengaluru-Patna. On non-peak dates, one-way fares on these routes are considerably lower. Air India Express listed fares from around Rs 5,000-6,000 on Mumbai-Varanasi, Rs 8,000-9,000 on Bengaluru-Varanasi, around Rs 8,700 on Mumbai-Patna and around Rs 13,000 on Bengaluru-Patna for select dates in October.Meanwhile, the Mumbai-Delhi route had an average one-way fare of Rs 8,534 during the 2025 festive period, while fares for November 7, 2026, were around Rs 11,531, an increase of nearly 35%.On the Bengaluru-Delhi route, the available fare was around Rs 16,469, compared with an average of Rs 9,264 during Diwali week last year, a jump of about 78%.While it is understandable that airfares will rise during the festive season because of the demand, it is the skyrocketing of airfares than in previous years that is causing heartache. Experts had earlier blamed a duopoly in the domestic aviation sector behind a sharp seasonal rise in airfares.Domestic Flight Fares for Diwali and Chhath:One way fares for November 7, 2026, as of Oct 13, 2026, as of 7 PMFlight RouteFare (One Way)Average airfare on non-peak datesMumbai-DelhiRs 11,531Rs 6,000-7,000Bengaluru-DelhiRs 16,469Rs 8,500-10,000Bengaluru-VaranasiRs 17,698Rs 8,000-9,000Mumbai-VaranasiRs 15,926Rs 6,000-8,000Bengaluru-PatnaRs 26,053Rs 11,000-13,000Mumbai-PatnaRs 25,643Rs 9,000-11,000Trains are hardly a reliable alternative for Bhargav, who barely gets a couple of days off from work. She said that around Diwali and Chhath, getting a confirmed train ticket is a struggle because everything gets booked so quickly. "There is never much hope. Eventually, I am left looking at flight tickets that cost a fortune," she said.Bhargav isn't the only one going through this. The LocalCircles survey findings show the scale of the issue — more than half of the respondents (54%) said they were paying over 50% more than what they did last year, while 9% reported paying more than double.The findings come weeks ahead of Diwali on November 8 and Chhath on November 14 and 15, when large numbers of people living away from their hometowns are expected to travel.OVER HALF SAY THEY ARE PAYING AT LEAST 50% MORE FOR AIR TICKETSIn the survey, respondents were asked how much more they were paying for air travel to return home this festive season compared with 2025.While 45% said they were paying between 50% and 100% more, another 9% reported that their fares had increased by over 100%. A further 9% said they were paying between 25% and 50% more, while 9% reported an increase of up to 25%.Only 19% said the fares were similar to last year, while none of the respondents reported paying less than they did in 2025. Another 9% did not provide a clear response.The figures reflect respondents' reported experiences, but do not establish that fares have risen by the same percentage across all domestic routes.The rise is also visible in fares on routes connecting major cities with Bihar. According to a report by The Times of India published on October 6, one-way fares from Mumbai to Patna had crossed Rs 26,000 ahead of Diwali and Rs 23,000 ahead of Chhath, with some tickets costing more than Rs 35,000.India Today Digital found Bengaluru-Patna fares had crossed Rs 25,000 on some peak dates, while Delhi-Patna tickets were being quoted at Rs 15,000-19,000.The Times of India report also cited fares of Rs 16,000-19,000 on some November dates for Hyderabad-Patna flights, with a ticket for November 7, the day before Diwali, priced at Rs 22,000.On non-peak dates, fares on the route were around Rs 7,200-8,000. These are reported booking prices for specific dates, rather than averages across all flights.WHAT DID FLYERS PAY LAST YEAR FOR DIWALI AIR TICKETS?The comparison with previous years is important because festive airfares tend to rise when demand concentrates around a few travel dates. Published figures from the 2025 festive season provide a reference point, although they do not establish a like-for-like comparison with every fare being quoted this year.In August 2025, The Financial Express reported that one-way, non-stop fares on key domestic routes across major metro networks had risen by 50–80% ahead of Diwali and Durga Puja.A September 2025 report by The New Indian Express, citing travel aggregator ixigo, said the average one-way, non-stop fare on Mumbai-Patna had reached Rs 14,540 for travel between October 19 and 25. The fare was 52% higher than during the corresponding peak festive period of 2024, when it averaged Rs 9,584.Bengaluru-Lucknow fares were reported at Rs 9,899, up 47% from Rs 6,720 a year earlier. These figures were based on tickets purchased 50-60 days in advance.These figures show that festival-related fare increases have always been there during the travel season.HIGH ATF PRICES, NO CAP ADD TO THE PRESSUREHigher aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs are adding to the pressure on passengers. According to the LocalCircles report, domestic ATF prices rose by Rs 16 per litre on October 1, from Rs 121 to Rs 137, following increases of Rs 5 in August and Rs 6.28 in September.IndiGo also revised its fuel charge from October 6, marking its third revision this year. The charge on domestic flights rose to Rs 375-1,300 per sector from Rs 275-950. Since the charge applies to each sector, passengers making a return journey pay it on both legs.However, fuel costs are only one part of the explanation for rising fares, and the concentration of demand around some dates, and the government's no-intervention stance.Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said last month that the government would not cap fares this festive season, while the ministry asked airlines to keep prices "reasonable" during periods of high demand.As the festive travel period approaches, the latest findings raise questions about how affordable flying home remains for people who live and work far from their families. LocalCircles said it would share the survey findings with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for necessary action. But when the matter is about lack of planes and seats, there is precious little the government will be able to do.- Ends