CHENNAI: The passenger footfall in Chennai airport has increased ahead of the festive seasons, which spiked the ticket price due to last-minute bookings.

People began travelling to their native places a few days before to celebrate the festival with their families and loved ones. This has spiked cost of flight tickets to exorbitant levels. As tickets in buses and trains are expensive, and often not available, people prefer flight journeys.

The added-benefit of escaping the on-road traffic to reach their native much faster is a bonus, as this gives salaried people more time with their loved ones during the festival. However, due to the last-minute rush, airlines have also increased the ticket fare.

Usually, the starting price for a ticket to Salem was Rs 2,390 which now costs Rs 11,504. To Thoothukudi, it was Rs 4,273 but now it’s Rs 13,200. It was Rs 3,300 to Coimbatore which is now Rs 13,700. From Rs 3,190, a ticket to Tiruchy now costs Rs 13,000.

Most passengers continue to book flights at these costs, as this is the only option to reach their hometown quickly. However, airport officials said that if passengers had pre-booked their tickets a few weeks ago, they would have saved money, as usually, the ticket price spike during the festival days due to demand.