Travelling by air this weekend? Prepare to shell out more.

Airfares across popular routes have shot up by as much as 50% for the upcoming Independence Day weekend, flight booking data showed, as travellers stitch together multiple holidays for extended vacations.

Independence Day and the Parsi New Year fall on 15 August, a Thursday, while Rakshabandhan falls on Monday. Many travellers seek to work remotely or take a day's leave on Friday to enjoy a lengthy five-day holiday, sparking a rush for flights.

Airfares have also jumped due to the slow pace of new aircraft joining India's fleet, even as travel demand leaps ahead.

"Indians are travelling like never before and spontaneously. There’s been a surge in bookings for the two weekends for domestic as well as short-haul international sectors," said Ajay Prakash, board member, FAITH (Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality). “The resultant increase in airfares might daunt some but younger travellers don’t hesitate to use their credit cards or choose fly-now-pay-later options."

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On travel portal Cleartrip, domestic airfares for the long weekend starting Independence Day have spiked 50% on year for travelling to Bengaluru, 9% for Delhi, over 30% for Srinagar, and nearly 20% for Leh. Similarly, ticket prices are up 17% on average for the period around Janmashtami.

Travel portal ixigo has also seen prices rise for flights between metro cities during the two long weekends in August. For an advance booking, the average one-way fare for August 14-20 between Delhi and Pune has risen to over ₹5,200, a jump of 23% from a year earlier. Similarly, a Bengaluru-Kochi ticket now costs around ₹3,500, a 46% spike from a year ago.

Pickup in August

While air traffic slowed in July on account of monsoon, travel picked up in August. Latest data from the civil aviation ministry shows that 451,567 passengers took 3,029 flights on 11 August, around 7% above the average daily count in July.

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Industry executives said delayed aircraft deliveries and shortage of spare parts means capacity hasn’t kept pace with demand, driving fares higher during the peak travel seasons. Improved pricing power has resulted in better yield -- or revenue earned per paying passenger flown per kilometre -- for airlines compared to the pre-covid levels, ratings agency ICRA said, while maintaining a stable outlook for the Indian aviation industry.

Indians are not just planning domestic travel during the long weekend. Indian expats are using the opportunity to create extended breaks of three to five days to travel home and celebrate with their families, said Indiver Rastogi, president & group head, global business travel, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel. “This is noticeable given the uptick from metros to tier 2-3 airports."

Going abroad, too

Booking.com said Indians are also considering international destinations for the long weekend. According to the portal’s data, while 65% of Indian travellers are seeking short domestic trips, nearly half (44%) plan to fly abroad over the four days.

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“Destinations such as Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are witnessing a 30-70% year-on-year growth," said Santosh Kumar, country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com.

For Thomas Cook, flight searches are on the rise for Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

“Given the rising trend of short-haul travel among Indians, these holidays do lead to a sudden spike in demand for air tickets," said Rajiv Mehra, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators. "However, we see it being confined to international travel or to those cities in India that are not impacted by heavy rains."