CHENNAI: With Malayalees in the city and neighbouring districts heading to their hometowns to celebrate Onam with their families, airfares on flights from Chennai to major destinations in Kerala have surged several-fold, leaving passengers shocked.

Onam, one of Kerala’s major festivals, will be celebrated on August 26. Like Pongal in Tamil Nadu, the festival is celebrated by Malayalees across caste and religious lines.

People living outside Kerala traditionally return to their hometowns a few days before the festival for the celebrations.

Though special trains and buses are operated, many opt for flights to avoid traffic chaos and the long journey by rail.

Since Saturday, a large number of passengers have been travelling from Chennai airport to Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kannur. This has resulted in a sharp increase in airfares on these routes.

Regular fare from Chennai to Kochi is around Rs 5,336, but the fare on Saturday was Rs 14,843. Similarly, the fare to Thiruvananthapuram, which is usually around Rs 5,853, had risen to Rs 14,700.

The Chennai-Kozhikode fare increased from the regular Rs 6,158 to Rs 17,678, while the Chennai-Kannur fare rose from Rs 5,655 to Rs 12,270. A flight to Kannur via Kochi was available at Rs 21,694.

Passengers have urged airlines to operate additional flights from Chennai to Kerala during major festival seasons to meet the increased demand.