Pongal rush sends flight fares soaring, airfares from Chennai now cost four times than usual

CHENNAI: The airfares to southern districts in Tamil Nadu have surged owing to the last-minute rush ahead of the Pongal holidays.

The surge in demand and dynamic pricing has resulted in a spike with flight fares to Madurai topping the list. The ticket price to Madurai stands at Rs 17,645 against the regular cost of Rs 3,999. The Coimbatore ticket fare has surged to Rs 16,645 from the usual fare of Rs 3,485, while airfare to Tiruchy has spiked to Rs 14,337 from Rs 2,199. For Tuticorin, the cost has surged from Rs 4,199 to Rs 12,866, while the Salem flight fare stands at Rs 9,579 against the regular fare of Rs 2,799.

Meanwhile, ticket fare to Thiruvananthapuram has increased to Rs 17,771 from the usual price of Rs 3,296, informed booking office sources.

All the tickets to Salem and Tuticorin for Saturday were sold out within a few hours and only a few were left for Sunday. The passengers demand that the AAI should consider operating extra flights to the Southern districts like the special trains and buses during the festival season.

Following the continuous holidays for the Pongal festival, the people started to travel to their native places to celebrate the festival with their friends and families. The domestic terminal in the Chennai airport was full as most people were travelling to the southern cities like Madurai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, Tuticorin, Salem, and Thiruvananthapuram.