Mumbai News

Last minute fares drop as coronavirus count rises; Mumbai-Delhi return flight at Rs 5,000 – Economic Times

As more and more cases of the novel coronavirus get reported in India, the number of ticket cancellations are going up leading to a drop in fares even on routes that generally see high traffic.

According to a report in Times of India, last minute fares on Mumbai-Delhi for a return flight have dropped to as low as Rs 5,000 for a flight scheduled to depart in next 24 hours.

“Mumbai-Delhi flights are always in high demand and even off-season, last minute fares don’t drop so low,” the report quoted a travel agent as saying.

Ticket prices have dropped primarily on account of lesser people travelling even as experts advise to avoid non-essential travel.

Travel agents have said that people are increasingly opting for cancellations on account of the coronavirus outbreak.

The report states that fares from Mumbai to Kochi dropped to Rs 5,000 for a return booking. The same fare earlier used to be somewhere around Rs 6,000-7,000 for a one way booking, the report quoted an agent as saying.

Similarly, return fares from Delhi to Bengaluru have dropped to Rs 6,700 and to Hyderabad to Rs 5,800.

The biggest impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has been on the tourism industry as people prefer to avoid crowded places for the fear of coming in contact with someone who is infected.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/last-minute-fares-drop-as-coronavirus-count-rises-mumbai-delhi-return-flight-at-rs-5000/articleshow/74570490.cms