Crowd surge at Chennai airport, ticket fare doubled

For the past two years, due to the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions, travelling had decreased overall. But now that all restrictions have been lifted in the State, people are making travel plans to their native for the holidays, informed sources at Chennai airport.

On Wednesday morning, airport sources said that most passengers were flying to Madurai, Kovai, Tiruchy Tuticorin, Kochi, Port Blair and Goa. “All tickets were sold out quickly. Kodaikanal and Ooty seem to be the favourite destination this summer,” added sources.

Meanwhile, prices of flight tickets to these destinations have also increased. “Usually, the maximum price for Chennai-Madurai flight would be Rs 5,000 but now it’s around Rs 10,000. Price to Tiruchy has increased to Rs 8,000 from Rs 4,000. For Goa, from Rs 3,000 it gone upto Rs 9,000. Flying to Port Blair was Rs 6,000 but now it’s Rs 29,000. Similarly, the ticket fare to Kochi and Tuticorin also increased,” explained sources.

Similarly, all hotels and resorts are also fully booked for the weekends despite higher tariffs also. “People were indoors for two years. Now that it’s a continuous holiday, all are eager to travel with their family to tourist spots. They don’t seem to care much about the hike in fare and tariff. Plus, five-star hotel rates are back to pre-covid times,” said a senior manager with a star hotel in south Chennai.