Passengers across the country are reeling under exorbitant airfares as IndiGo’s massive operational meltdown continues to ripple through the aviation network. With India’s largest carrier grounding hundreds of flights for a second straight day, capacity shortages have pushed ticket prices on competing airlines to levels rarely seen in the domestic market.
Record Fares Hit Key Routes
With IndiGo unable to operate a large chunk of its scheduled services, alternate options have become both scarce and staggeringly expensive. On Friday, tickets for popular routes touched unprecedented highs.
- Delhi to Mumbai – Rs 70,000
- Delhi to Udaipur – Rs 70,000
- Delhi to Jaipur – Rs 90,000
- Delhi to Patna, Bengaluru – Rs 40,000
The spike began midweek when a traveller searching for an overnight Air India connection between Mumbai and Delhi found economy fares hovering at Rs 1.03 lakh, with premium economy slightly above that and business class at Rs 1.3 lakh. Just one seat was available at those rates. With direct options wiped out, the only feasible alternative was a long-duration, multi-stop journey costing Rs 12,599 and stretching close to 12 hours.
IndiGo Groundings Leave Network Strained
The airline’s operational disruption—stemming from a combination of technical issues and staff-related challenges—has resulted in more than 550 cancellations on Thursday and another 400 on Friday.
With IndiGo dominating the domestic aviation market, its absence has left passengers scrambling for limited seats on other carriers, triggering a dramatic surge in prices.
Rahul Gandhi Slams “Monopoly Model”
The turbulence has also spilled into the political arena. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi sharply criticised the government, linking the chaos to what he called a “monopoly model” that encourages consolidation and weakens competition. “IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt’s monopoly model. Once again, it’s ordinary Indians who pay the price—in delays, cancellations and helplessness,” Gandhi said in a post on X. He added, “India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies.”
Gandhi also resurfaced his earlier writings, where he compared modern monopolistic forces to the fear once inspired by the East India Company, suggesting that a new class of dominant players has emerged in its place.
Passengers Caught In The Middle
With no clarity on when operations will stabilise, many travellers remain stranded, forced to pay inflated prices or defer journeys indefinitely. As airlines struggle to absorb the demand shock and regulators monitor the situation, the immediate future of domestic air travel remains uncertain—and expensive.
