CHENNAI: Those who were hoping to fly from Chennai to southern districts to celebrate Pongal were left disappointed, as tickets on all flights to key destinations were fully booked, causing widespread inconvenience.

Denizens and people from its suburban areas have been heading to the airport to fly home. However, they found that all flights from Chennai to Madurai, Tiruchy, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore and Salem were completely sold out, leaving them unable to travel by air.

Due to the unavailability of tickets on direct flights, many passengers attempted to book seats on Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram flights as an alternative. While the usual fare on this route is around Rs 3,889, festival demand has pushed prices up to Rs 9,797, with only a few seats available.

A similar situation prevails in the Chennai-Coimbatore sector, where all direct flights are fully booked. Passengers who try to reach Coimbatore through connecting flights are forced to pay fares as high as Rs 16,500, compared to the regular ticket price of around Rs 3,499.

Passengers said there was a sharp reduction in the number of flights operating within TN. “Until a few months ago, 16 daily arrival and departure flights were operated between Chennai and Madurai. This has now been reduced to just six due to airlines replacing smaller ATR aircraft with larger planes. Similarly, the number of daily flights to Tiruchy has dropped from eight to four,” pointed out a passenger.

Additionally, some airlines have suspended flights to destinations such as Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchy without an explanation. Passengers have urged airlines to operate additional flights during festival periods and summer holidays, similar to the practice of running special trains and buses, to meet the surge in demand and prevent such hardships in the future.