New Delhi:
Regular international flights in India have resumed today after nearly two years. For the past two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international flights have been in a “bubble” arrangement with several countries.
Under the previous “bubble” agreements, flights were limited to about 2,000 a week and ticket prices had skyrocketed. As many as 60 airlines from 40 countries can now fly to India during the summer schedule, which runs from today until October 29.
Industry experts see this as a sign of hope and say passengers may be able to get some relief from the plane ticket. But the ongoing war in Ukraine would also play a role. Fuel prices have risen sharply in the past month since Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine.
“Every time the capacity is increased, the airfares go down. The only complicating factor this time is the war in Ukraine, which is resulting in spikes in oil prices,” said Sanjiv Kapoor, incoming CEO of Jet Airways.
Travel portals are witnessing a spike in flight-related searches since restrictions on international flights were lifted today.
“Consumer sentiment is very positive at the moment. The opening of international flights is welcome news. Our recent research suggests an all-time high of people wanting to travel,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder of travel portal Ixigo.
The CEO of the MakeMyTrip group, Rajesh Magow, echoes the sentiment, saying their monthly searches are up 40 percent.
“The downer is still the war rates,” warns Mr. Magow.