86% of those who have looked for flights to Mahakumbh in the last one week say airfares are 3-10 times of the regular fares
- ● 44% of those surveyed stated the air fares to Prayagraj were “6-8 times regular fares”

Fares as of 8 am on Jan 29, 2025 between major cities and Prayagraj
January 29, 2025, New Delhi: Hordes of people have started travelling to Prayagraj by cars, buses and trains for the holy dip during the ongoing Mahakumbh mela as the airfares have risen 300% to 600% or even more on some routes. While the government is assuring people that during January 81 more flights had been pressed into service on the Prayagraj route, angry citizens have shared their anguish and anger on social media.
Few such comments state: “Flight prices to Prayagraj have become astronomical. Airlines seem to be looting citizens of the country who just want to attend the spiritual festival. Please help”. Another states: “Flights from India to many international destinations are cheaper than traveling to Prayagraj. The worst part? The govt has no control over this blatant exploitation, looting the common people’s money in the name of spiritual tour for the Maha Kumbh”. Yet another states: “Bhubaneswar to Bangkok costs INR 10K, while Bhubaneswar to Prayagraj flights cost INR39k…” There are many more in the same vein.
After the release of LocalCircles survey went viral last Sunday highlighting the issue of high airfares to Mahakumbh, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has strived to appease people wanting to travel to Prayagraj stating that “budget airlines SpiceJet and Akasa Air will be adding more flights to the Prayagraj airport. The official statement added that SpiceJet is set to launch flights between Prayagraj and several cities adding around 43,000 seats in February. Over the next few days, Akasa Air will also start operating flights connecting Prayagraj with Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. The airline plans to operate nine flights from Ahmedabad and 12 flights from Bengaluru, adding around 4,000 seats. “These new flights are part of the ongoing efforts to ensure regional connectivity and accommodate the influx of travellers to Prayagraj during the Mahakumbh period. The addition of these flights is expected to ease the pressure on airfares and improve overall accessibility for devotees and tourists,” MoCA said in a release. Currently, there are 132 flights with around 80,000 monthly seats to Prayagraj from across the country.
In the LocalCircles survey released, 8 in 10 airline passengers had indicated that they have had to pay excessive airfare in the last 12 months to airlines for a trip undertaken and 6 in 10 were in favour of the Government capping airfares to twice the regular fare. Many are experiencing that airlines are charging 3X-6X for travel at times. The current situation for Mahakumbh travel is just another one where not only fares have gone up significantly for Prayagraj but also nearby airports like Varanasi. Not only tourists/ pilgrims but also residents of Prayagraj and nearby cities trying to go back home are facing difficulty in travelling by air. Given the situation, LocalCircles has conducted another survey to find out the exact situation people have experienced in booking travel to Mahakumbh in the last one week. The survey received over 15,000 responses from air passengers across the country who have booked or attempted to book travel to Prayagraj or nearby airports.
86% Indians surveyed who have looked for flights to Mahakumbh (Prayagraj or nearby airports) in the last one week say they found the airfares to be 3-10 times of the regular airfares
The survey asked those who have travelled to Prayagraj or are planning to do so in the next couple of weeks, “If you or a family member has searched for a flight to Prayagraj or nearby airports to visit Mahakumbh in the last one week, what kind of air fare have been presented to you.” Out of 15,899 who responded to the question 21% stated “8-10 times regular fares”; 44% stated “6-8 times regular fares”; 21% stated "”3-5 times regular fares”; 8% stated “up to 2 times regular fares” and 6% did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 86% Indians surveyed who have looked for flights to Mahakumbh (Prayagraj or nearby airports) in the last one week say they found the airfares to be 3-10 times of the regular airfares.

In summary, notwithstanding the DGCA and Civil Aviation Minister’s claims that enough flights have been arranged, and more are being arranged to tackle the surge in traffic to Prayagraj during Mahakumbh mela, the occasion is being misused by airlines according to consumers, to profiteer. The result is 86% Indians surveyed who have looked for flights to Mahakumbh (Prayagraj or nearby airports) in the last one week say they found the airfares to be 3-10 times of the regular airfares. While profits are desirable for airlines to remain in good health, the kind of profiteering has no justification and it is unfortunate that the DGCA, MoCA and consumer protection bodies like CCPA have not intervened.
Survey Demographics
The survey received over 15,000 responses from consumers located in 301 districts of India. 63% respondents were men while 37% respondents were women. 45% respondents were from tier 1, 25% from tier 2 and 30% respondents were from tier 3, 4, 5 and rural districts. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.
About LocalCircles
LocalCircles, India’s leading Community Social Media platform enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and enables Government to make policies that are citizen and small business centric. LocalCircles is also India’s # 1 pollster on issues of governance, public and consumer interest. More about LocalCircles can be found on https://www.localcircles.com
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