Airfares on key domestic routes have surged sharply this Diwali season with peak ticket prices rising by as much as four times compared to average fares during last year’s festive period. The sharp surge comes amid already elevated airfares this year, driven by a steep rise in jet fuel prices and fuel surcharge levies.
An analysis of fares across six key domestic corridors, shared by leading travel and hotel booking platform Cleartrip, shows that peak airfares for Diwali 2026 have climbed significantly over the average fares recorded during Diwali 2025. The steepest increase has been recorded on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, where peak fares have touched Rs 23,000, compared to an average of Rs 3,800-Rs 5,000 last year.
Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, November 8, 2026. Similarly, fares on the Delhi-Mumbai corridor, one of the country’s busiest business routes, have climbed to as much as Rs 26,500 against an average of Rs 5,500-Rs 7,200 during Diwali 2025. This represents an increase of over 3.5 times at the upper end of the fare range, as per Cleartrip data.
The Bengaluru-Delhi route has also witnessed a sharp escalation with peak fares reaching Rs 22,000 compared to an average of Rs 7,500-Rs 9,500 last year. On the Delhi/Mumbai-Patna corridor, fares have touched Rs 32,000 against an average of Rs 10,000-Rs 14,000 during the previous festive season.
Other routes have seen similar trends. Peak fares on the Bengaluru-Mumbai corridor have risen to Rs 8,500-Rs 13,000 compared to Rs 4,200-Rs 6,000 last year. Meanwhile, fares on the Bengaluru-Lucknow route have touched Rs 9,900-Rs 15,000 against an average of Rs 6,720 during Diwali 2025.
The sharp increase in festive airfares can be attributed to heightened demand and limited capacity as a large number of passengers travel to their hometowns for Diwali and Chatt festival or take leisure trips. Routes connecting major economic hubs such as Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai with smaller cities witness particularly steep increases every year.
Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo said that they are witnessing strong momentum in festive travel demand across domestic and international markets, with travellers embracing both hometown journeys and leisure getaways. Domestically, destinations such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad continue to drive strong train booking volumes, with Patna, Varanasi, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram also emerging as key festive travel hubs.
“Intercity bus travel is witnessing equally strong traction, with AbhiBus recording 32% YoY growth in bookings across its leading routes during the 25-day Dussehra 2026 travel period…These trends reflect the growing diversity of Indian travel preferences, and we expect this momentum to continue through Diwali and Chhath, with robust demand across travel modes and destinations,” added Bajpai.
According to Cleartrip’s PeekABoo travel trends, flight bookings to Agatti grew 130%, Gaya 98% and Dimapur 80%. Other domestic destinations recording flight growth include Udaipur (59%), Dibrugarh (37%), Gorakhpur (34%), Jabalpur (29%), Imphal (24%) and Dehradun (9%). The report added that Gen Z travellers are driving flight growth. Bookings among travellers aged 15–24 increased 60%, compared with 6%among those aged 25–34.