Amritsar/Ludhiana/Chandigarh: With train services to and from New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations suspended for 10 hours on Saturday, airfares from Amritsar to Delhi surged sharply on Friday, with some flights touching Rs 8,000 against the usual one-way fare of around Rs 4,000.The railway restrictions have particularly affected passengers with onward international connections, which is why flights in the second half saw the most fluctuations.“Those with onward travel plans, especially international flights, have limited choices and are having to buy expensive tickets to avoid further cancellations or missing their connections,” said Dalip, a travel agent in Amritsar.Another agent, Ravi Sehgal, said airfares for Oct 10 were changing rapidly, with tickets being released in limited slots of 8 to 10 seats.Fares for the afternoon flight from Ludhiana’s Halwara Airport to Delhi for Oct 10 kept fluctuating throughout Friday. At 3.01 pm, it soared to Rs 12,987 but fell to Rs 4,616 at 7.33 pm and was Rs 4,301 at 8.07 pm. There wasn’t much change in the morning fares.The Kalka Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and Amritsar Shatabdi — which always run packed — were among 29 trains cancelled for Oct 10. Several other trains originating from Amritsar, Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Jammu Tawi, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Daulatpur Chowk and Una also stand cancelled.There was no big change in flight and cab fares from Chandigarh to Delhi till the time this report was filed on Friday evening.
