Holiday rush at IGIA this weekend
Passenger movement at Delhi Airport has seen a sharp rise since Wednesday evening due to the extended weekend. Sidhartha Roy and Faizan Haider report.
Passenger movement at Delhi Airport has seen a sharp rise since Wednesday evening due to the extended weekend.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which normally handles nearly one lakh passengers a day, has seen an increase in passenger movement, especially to tourist destinations.
“There is a huge rush of passengers due to the extended weekend and all our flights are packed for these four days,” said an Air India official. “Apart from flights to the usual tourist attractions such as Goa and Kerala, there is also a rush for Gulf and South East Asian countries. Flights to all metro cities are also full,” he added.
Sources said that despite the rising temperature, Delhiites do not mind going to destinations such as Goa and Kerala.
“Looking at this rush, air fares have increased by almost 15 per cent for this long weekend. Flights on domestic sector such as Goa, Mumbai and Bangalore are already showing full. Those who have started planning now will have to pay exorbitant prices to get a seat,” Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director of the Bird Group said.
“The four-day long weekend has presented an exciting holiday time to the India Inc. People from the city are flocking to nearby and far tourist destinations to spend time with their families. Owing to this, hotels at all major tourist destinations close to the city are running full. We too have seen a 50 per cent surge in bookings,” said Sachin Bhatia from Latitude 30*N Ganga, a resort in Rishikesh.