Runway repairs: 100 flights cancelled at IGIA, fares up 100% on some routes

Just as passengers were dealing with delays and disruptions at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport due to repairs on one of the three runways since yesterday, November 15, they were hit with dearer spot airfares in and out of Delhi. Adding to the woes, about 100 daily flights have also been cancelled for the next eight days, according to The Times of India report. 

As seen on various travel apps and websites, the fare of one-way tickets from Delhi shot up to almost Rs 30,000. For example, the Delhi-Mumbai flight airfares showed high airfares ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 29,000 on travel portals. 

November 16 flight fares from Delhi
 

Mumbai - Rs 9,427 - Rs 28,974

Kolkata - Rs 11,401 - Rs 31,425

Chennai - Rs 8,303 - Rs 28,712

Bengaluru - Rs 17,752  - Rs 29,447

Hyderabad - Rs 9,773 - Rs 21,870

Source: MakeMytrip.com

“Spot fares in some sectors have gone up by up to 100 per cent as it is weekend and the inventory of lower advance purchase-priced tickets has been sold out. What is available for spot sale is the higher category fares. With close to 100 flights less per day when the runway will be shut (Nov 16-23), the demand-supply mismatch has added to higher fares,” A Kalsi of Delhi’s Ambe Travels told TOI.

One of IGIA's runways will be closed for repairs for 13 days starting Thursday, according to a communication. The airport, operated by DIAL, is the busiest aerodrome in the country. Runway 27/09 would be closed for "preventive repairs" next month while two other runways -- 11/29 and 10/28 -- would be operational.

The airport handled 63.5 million passengers in 2017-18. The airport has around 1,300 flight movements every day.

In a statement, DIAL said it was planning the closure of runway 27/09 to carry out preventive repairs.

"The works are scheduled to be undertaken for 13-day duration starting from November 15, 2018. This will lower the capacity of IGI Airport by 50 arrivals and 50 departures per day in this duration," a DIAL spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said these works are essential for safe aircraft operations and to avoid sudden disruptions that cause greater impact due to the time required for planning the logistics.