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Lesser mortals flocking to the city for the much-awaited opening—following legal and political battles that dragged on for decades—have to deal with more mundane matters: airfares and hotel prices that have shot through the roof, that is, if tickets and bookings are available at all.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the temple on 22 January, with about 500,000 people expected to visit the pilgrimage destination for the consecration ceremony. That’s about 10 times Ayodhya’s population of about 56,000, as per the 2011 Census.
About 50 private jets are expected to land at Ayodhya ferrying guests for the grand event. But several of these planes will have to find parking elsewhere due to a lack of space at Ayodhya airport, as well as for security reasons, say executives at private charter companies.
“If you include Lucknow, Gorakhpur and even Kanpur, there would be about 25 parking bays available. So, the planes will land at Ayodhya, passengers will disembark, and then the aircraft will take off to park at one of these other airports,” said an executive with a business jet service provider, asking not to be identified.
Business has been robust for these operators, thanks to the temple.
“Literally all the aircraft, whether private jets or turbo-propellers, have already been booked for the event at Ayodhya,” said Santosh Sharma, co-founder and chief executive officer at Foresee Aviation Pvt. Ltd, an air charter consultancy firm. “There is huge demand from all quarters, be it corporate houses or from travel trade and high net-worth individuals,” Sharma said.
Direct flights from Delhi to Ayodhya are sold out for 21 January, show online travel platforms. One-way fares for the route on 19 January and 20 January range from ₹12,000–15,000, much higher than the average fare of ₹3,000–5,000.
The spike in hotel tariffs is starker, peaking to ₹45,000 per night for a room that would otherwise cost about ₹4,000.
“The hotel industry is working on the infrastructure to cater to the footfalls expected for Ayodhya city, but this will take time. Currently, there are a handful of three-star properties which have been reserved for government delegates and important personalities for the event,” said P. P. Khanna, a board member of the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality.
As per travel platform MakeMyTrip, search data for January reveals a spike in global search for Ayodhya as a spiritual destination—including from the US, the Gulf region, Canada and Australia.
Other platforms are seeing similar patterns.
“Our demand trends indicate increased interest for the destination from customers across segments, with an uptick of 400% versus pre-pandemic levels,” said Indiver Rastogi, president and group head-global business travel, at Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel. “Given the limited hotel inventory, customers are inclined to look at day trips to Ayodhya and are booking accommodations in Lucknow and Prayagraj.”
Lucknow and Gorakhpur are about 135 km from Ayodhya by road, and Prayagraj about 170 km. Varanasi and Kanpur are further away, at 220–240 km.
As per Thomas Cook, direct return airfares from these hubs to Ayodhya for the week beginning 22 January are 30–70% higher than average fares.
So far, IndiGo and Air India Express have launched scheduled commercial flight services to Ayodhya airport. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, operated its inaugural flight from Delhi for Ayodhya on 30 December.
The airline operates a daily flight between Delhi and Ayodhya, and has also commenced tri-weekly flights between Ahmedabad and Ayodhya from 11 January.
Tata Group-backed Air India Express offers daily flights between Ayodhya and New Delhi and tri-weekly flights to Bengaluru and Kolkata.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet recently announced that it will operate a special flight on 21 January from Delhi to Ayodhya, and a return flight the following day.
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Published: 13 Jan 2024, 12:09 AM IST
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