T’puram: The air fare from Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi to Colombo shot up to Rs 30,000 one way, as there was huge demand for seats to travel to watch the India-Pakistan cricket match this weekend.In Thiruvananthapuram, seats on direct flights were sold out, while the return fare via Delhi was more than Rs 1 lakh on Saturday. The match is on Sunday. The fare from Kochi on the direct flight is Rs 66,000. The fare for Saturday is much higher than the 24 hours’ advance booking fare that usually ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000.Travel and tour operators say that people from metro cities too prefer to fly from these cities because air fares are much higher there. The weekend was already popular because of Valentine’s Day but the sudden announcement that the Pakistan-India match will take place added to the rush for seats and the consequent increase in fare, an airline official said.Fans who managed to get tickets for the match much before Pakistan withdrew are now in a quandary as air fares are too high from Mumbai. The room tariffs too started to increase in Colombo. P Hrishi, a fan, said, “The air fare is too high for travel from the metros. I am trying to see if there are smaller cities from where the fare will be affordable.”A travel agent said that there is no phenomenal demand for travel from Thiruvananthapuram. “The increase in the fare shows a few are travelling to Sri Lanka for the match. The demand is much higher from Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai.”
