Ahmedabad: The airfare for flights to Prayagraj has skyrocketed due to high demand and bookings, as the city hosts millions of devotees daily during the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.

As of today, the one-way direct flight ticket on the SpiceJet flight between Ahmedabad and Prayagraj, which typically costs around ₹6,500, has surged to as high as ₹34,000 during the Maha Kumbh period. Meanwhile, connecting flights between the two cities are priced as high as ₹50,000 on certain days.

Given this high demand, IndiGo will launch a direct flight between the two cities later this month. Although this flight will not operate daily, bookings have already commenced. The ticket price for this flight is around ₹6,000 on February 27, a day after the Kumbh Mela culminates. However, during the peak of the Kumbh Mela, such as on January 28, the fare has risen to approximately ₹30,000, five times the usual rate.

Notably, Ahmedabad is currently the only city in Gujarat with a direct flight to Prayagraj. Other major cities, such as Surat, Vadodara, and Rajkot, are connected to Prayagraj only via indirect services. The airfares from these cities are significantly higher. For example, an Air India flight from Rajkot International Airport to Prayagraj via Delhi is priced at ₹48,000 for January 31 if booked today. Similarly, the fastest available flight from Surat to Prayagraj on the same date is IndiGo’s flight via Delhi, costing around ₹23,000.

For travelers from Vadodara, the cheapest flight on January 31 is priced at ₹18,000, while the most expensive one reaches as high as ₹40,000.

The situation is similar across India, as devotees from all over the country travel in large numbers to attend the sacred Maha Kumbh. According to an analysis by travel portal ixigo, the one-way airfare between Bhopal and Prayagraj has seen the steepest increase, soaring by 498% to ₹17,796 from ₹2,977 last year.

These figures represent one-way average fares based on a 30-day advance purchase period for travel between January 13 and February 26, 2025, compared to the same period last year.

The analysis also highlights an 89% rise in airfare for the Bengaluru-Prayagraj route, now priced at ₹11,158. Meanwhile, the Delhi-Prayagraj fare has risen by 21% to ₹5,748, and the Mumbai-Prayagraj flight price has increased by 13% to ₹6,381.

For flights to nearby cities like Lucknow and Varanasi, airfares have also climbed, with increases ranging from 3% to 21%.

To accommodate the passenger rush, Western Railway is operating over 110 trains passing through Gujarat to Prayagraj and nearby cities. Despite this, all these trains are running at full occupancy, with waiting lists in sleeper class exceeding 110 in several cases. In air-conditioned classes, such as 3 AC, 2 AC, and First Class, waiting lists range from 20 to 50.

Given the high airfares and fully booked trains, many devotees are opting to travel by road to Prayagraj to attend the sacred Maha Kumbh Mela 2025.

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