For forty-four days starting January 13, Prayagraj will see millions of visitors take a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam at the Maha Kumbh Mela, held once every 12 years. The Maha Kumbh Mela is the celebration of the victory of gods over demons as per ancient scriptures, and this time around, over 350 million devotees are expected. While traditionally, there have been buses and trains ferrying the pilgrims, this year, aviation will contribute significantly. Airline after airline is adding flights to Prayagraj, and new cities are being connected for the duration of the Maha Kumbh.
Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that Prayagraj will see an average of 117 weekly departures in early February, more than double the number of departures the airport handled in December.
New flights, new connections
SpiceJet, which currently does not operate to Prayagraj, will operate 35 weekly flights, each daily from Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The airline made the most of the last Kumbh Mela, with some days seeing up to seven daily flights due to the increased demand. Those were the heydays of SpiceJet, and the airline had spare capacity in the form of Q400s. This will be a big money spinner for the airline this time around, but today, the SpiceJet is vastly different from what it was before 2014. Government-owned Alliance Air, which already operates to Prayagraj, will help connect the holy city to Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Dehradun, in addition to Delhi. IndiGo and Akasa Air are augmenting capacities.
Alliance Air will connect Prayagraj to nine destinations, followed by IndiGo, which will connect to seven. SpiceJet will connect Prayagraj to five destinations, while Akasa Air will connect it to two. In terms of frequencies, IndiGo will have 42 departures a week, followed by SpiceJet at 35. Alliance Air will have 26, while Akasa Air will have 14. At 7374 seats per week, IndiGo will be the largest carrier, followed by SpiceJet, which has 5558 seats on offer. Akasa Air will offer 2613 weekly seats, while Alliance Air will deploy 1666 weekly seats for departures from Prayagraj.
From being connected only to Delhi last time to being connected to 15 destinations right now, aviation has come a long way when it comes to religious tourism. With one-stop options, 23 destinations will be connected to Prayagraj.
The January to March quarter is one of the leaner quarters in Indian aviation with this typically being the exam season. This means that airlines are typically struggling on few routes and have now found a destination which will garner great loads and fares for a sizable part of the quarter.
How is the airport handling it?
Prayagraj Airport has a civil enclave under the control of the Indian Air Force. The airport has more than doubled in capacity since the last Kumbh Mela twelve years ago. The airport expansion pre-COVID saw additional flights. However, leading up to the Maha Kumbh, the government has invested in expanding the terminal and adding additional bays. This festivities will also see foreign dignitaries and VIPs travel to the city.
Apart from physical expansion like more bays and expanded terminals, both airlines and Airports Authority of India have deployed additional manpower to handle the rush, many of whom could be first time passengers or old, requiring special handling.
Tail Note
The airfares to Prayagraj are going up by the day. For days leading up to the holiest of days, one would not be surprised if more flights were added. On certain days, the airfares are already hitting the roof, making additional flights a solace to passengers and extra revenue for the airlines.
While others cash in, the Air India group is totally missing. Will Air India Express enter the market last minute? Last time around, Air India was the only carrier that used to serve Prayagraj, followed by Allahabad. The airline was owned by the government back then. In terms of capacity, IndiGo is best placed to add flights and make the most of them during the festive period.