A sudden jump in domestic airfares was reported on Friday after IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights across the country for a second consecutive day. The cancellations reduced seat availability on several busy routes, which led to unusually high ticket prices that many passengers described as shocking and unaffordable.
Tickets on short regional routes such as Guwahati to Kolkata showed the highest rise. The price for the next available date touched around ₹23,099. This route usually costs between ₹2,500 and ₹6,000 depending on the season and day. Several online booking platforms showed prices above ₹23,000 to ₹27,000 for one-way travel, leaving passengers with very limited options.
Other major routes also recorded steep increases. Prices for Delhi to Mumbai were shown at ₹35,000 to ₹40,000 for one-way travel, while round-trip fares went up to ₹60,000. Delhi to Hyderabad showed estimates above ₹48,000, though the usual fare is around ₹6,000 to ₹7,000. Delhi to Kolkata round trip, which normally costs far less, went up to around ₹85,000 in some cases. 
There were also high prices for routes from Mumbai. Travel from Mumbai to Chennai showed around ₹60,000 in some listings, while Mumbai to Srinagar went above ₹62,000. Passengers booking return tickets to Srinagar said the total could easily cross ₹92,000. Many travellers also compared these domestic fares with international routes and pointed out that a return ticket from Delhi to European cities such as London or Paris was still available between ₹50,000 and ₹60,000.
The steep rise came at a time when IndiGo reportedly grounded more than 500 flights. Airline officials said the cancellations happened because of an internal calculation problem linked to the new pilot rest rules issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
