Ayodhya Airport Takes Off: Handles 25,000 Passengers In First Month, Ram Mandir Inauguration Contributes To Volume

In its inaugural month, the Ayodhya Airport managed nearly 25,000 passengers, averaging around 146 travelers per domestic flight, as per data from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for January.

By comparison, major airports like Delhi and Mumbai saw an average of 166 domestic passengers per flight during the same period as per a report by The Economic Times.

According to an AAI official, the majority of these passengers, totaling 24,866, traveled to or from Ayodhya in the final two weeks of January, coinciding with the inauguration of the Ram Mandir on 22 January.

The commencement of direct flights from Mumbai to Ayodhya on 15 January contributed to the surge in passenger traffic during this period.

Currently, the Ayodhya airport operates approximately 24 arrivals and departures, with Delhi having the highest frequency of flights, followed by Mumbai and other destinations such as Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, and Darbhanga.

Despite March typically being a slower period for religious tourism, the demand for flights to Ayodhya has remained relatively steady. Return trip fares from various cities varied, with the lowest prices observed for direct flights from Delhi starting at Rs 10,000.

Other routes, including flights from Mumbai, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, offered return tickets starting at Rs 20,000.

Online travel platform MakeMyTrip reported a significant surge in searches for travel to Ayodhya from across India, with a remarkable 1,806 per cent increase following the announcement of the temple's inauguration.