Brace yourself to pay more for airtravel to and from Mumbai as both its runways will remain closed for maintenance for six hours every alternate day beginning February 7 till March 30. The two airport runways at the airport will be closed from 11 am to 5 pm for three days -- Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays -- every week till March 30. This will significantly reduce the total flight capacity at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA).
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), in a statement, has said that an estimated 5,000 flights would be affected due to the revamping work at the airport.
The airport handles around 1,000 flights a day. Reports say over 230 flights were cancelled on Thursday alone. Due to constant delay and the scarcity of flights, most airlines have also increased their fares. According to travel portal ixigo, the average airfare has been up by average 23 per cent on key routes to and from Mumbai. The routes that have seen maximum fare hike include Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Delhi-Mumbai, and stop over routes. In some case, the airfares have been increased by up to 200 per cent, claims the travel portal.
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While the primary runway at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport can handle up to 50 arrivals and departures in an hour, the secondary runway can handle 35 flights per hour, reported PTI.
"Ahmedabad-Mumbai has seen a substantial hike in airfares of over 80 per cent as compared to last week. Last minute non-stop flights and stop overflights have been impacted the most, recording a growth of over 200 per cent in some cases. Around 33 per cent of all flights from Mumbai airport were delayed today and we expect a further increase in cancellations and delays over the next few days," the news agency quoted ixigo co-founder and CEO Aloke Bajpai as saying.
With the maintenance work on at the two runways of the airport, airlines have been quick in increasing airfares on key routes. On Friday, a nonstop IndiGo flight from Delhi to Mumbai was priced at over Rs 14,500. Similarly, SpiceJet flight ticket started from Rs 10,102 up to Rs 20,038. Air India flight ticket was priced at Rs 8,456 and went up to Rs 17,014.
Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport will also be temporarily shutdown partially later this month on account of biennial Aero India show slated to take place between February 14-24.
Edited by Manoj Sharma
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