Mumbai: Devotees wishing to take a holy dip at the Mahakumbh 2025 will face the heat of increased airfare as the flight fares from Mumbai to Prayagraj have increased by 500% to 600%. With the increasing demand of travel from Mumbai to Prayagraj for Mahakumbh 2025, airlines like Indigo, Akasa Air and Spicejet have started direct flights on a daily basis.
With the start of Mahakumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, people from across the country and beyond have started travelling to witness the largest religious gathering. While getting confirmed train tickets is a far-fetched dream for Indians, the airlines have also jumped in to capitalise on the growing demand of travelling options to Prayagraj.
Before the Mahakumbh started, Indian airlines announced new flights and increased connectivity from various Indian cities to Prayagraj. The Prayagraj Airport has added 2 new flights to serve 14 destinations, including six new destinations, like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Raipur, Bilaspur and Guwahati.
In December, SpiceJet had announced its plans to run special daily flights from Mumbai to Prayagraj from January 12 to February 28. The initiative also covers Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad to have direct flights to Prayagraj. In total, Spicejet, Indigo and Akasa Air run daily flight services on the route providing multiple options for people flying from Mumbai to Prayagraj.
However, with the increase in demand, the airfares on the Mumbai-Prayagraj route have skyrocketed. Currently, the airfare for one-way Mumbai to Prayagraj flight is ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. Akasa Air flight and Indigo cost around Rs 21,000 to Rs 28,000 whereas Spicejet costs around Rs 30,000. On January 23, Spicejet flight on this route at 1.40pm costs a whopping Rs 32,294.
The inflated airfare is observed only until February 26, the ending date of Mahakumbh. Post Mahakumbh, airfares on the same route return back to its normal fare of Rs 5,000. This says that the current airfare during the Mahakumbh season has increased by 500% to 600%. The Free Press Journal had earlier reported in December about the increased airfare in domestic travel during the holiday season.
