Pay More To Fly In And Out Of Mumbai: 20 To 50 Per Cent Hike In Airfares Due To Runway Repair Works At Airport
Due to ongoing runway repair work at Mumbai airport, airfares for flights in and out of the city will cost upto 25 per cent more than regular fares on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays till 30 March 2019, reports Times Of India (TOI).
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will see no flight movement between 11 am and 5 pm till March-end, except on March 21, as per the renovation schedule. It is estimated that up to 276 flights could be impacted on a daily basis.
“The Mumbai airport closure has led to a spike in airfares. Mumbai is the busiest (single runway) airport and any curtailment of flights have a big impact on airfares. We see a 15 per cent to 20 per cent hike in airfares. This (hike percentage) will go up as corporate travel is usually last-minute and it will lead to increased demand in the face of limited inventory,” said John Nair, head of business travel at Cox & Kings to TOI.
Lack Of Progress On Second Airport
The problem has been exacerbated due to the delay in the completion of the second airport in Navi Mumbai which could ease congestion at CSIMA. Earlier, Maharashtra CM had announced that instead of December 2019, the first runway and one terminal building of the Navi Mumbai airport would be completed by March 2020.