Tourists face steep airfare hike from Dharamsala to Delhi

Tourists who visited Dharamsala for the year-end vacation are facing a costly return journey to Delhi. Many tourists have complained that airline companies have abnormally increased fares from Dharamsala to Delhi, expecting that tourists would return to their jobs in the first few days of January.

According to Ashutosh Sharma, a tourist who visited Dharamsala for the year-end vacation, airfare for a one-way trip from Dharamsala to Delhi have touched Rs 15,122 to Rs 18,114. Sharma expressed his disappointment, stating that airfares from Dharamsala to Delhi are costlier than return tickets from many South East Asian countries. “It’s like gouging consumers,” he said.

The high airfares from Dharamsala to Delhi have also been criticised by the hotel and tourism industry in the region. Sanjeev Gandhi, general secretary of Smart City Dharamsala Hotel and Restaurant Association, said that many tourists who came from Delhi complained about the high airfares on their return journey. “Such airfares are the highest in the country and are bringing a bad name to Dharamsala’s tourism industry,” he said.

Currently, five flights operate daily between Dharamsala and Delhi, including two from Alliance Airways, two from SpiceJet, and one from Indigo. The Gaggal airport in Kangra is one of the busiest airports in Himachal and operates year-round. However, the airport’s strip is only 1,372 m long, allowing only small 70-seated planes to land. This limitation contributes to the high airfares to the region. During the peak season, the fare touches as high as Rs 21,000 for one-way trip.

The Himachal Government has initiated plans to expand the Gaggal airport, with a budget provision of Rs 2,000 crore. The expansion project, planned in two phases, aims to increase the airport strip’s length to 1.9 km in the first phase and 3.1 km in the second phase. This expansion is expected to accommodate bigger planes and decrease airfares to the region.