Flight fares soar as floods halt trains

TT, Aug. 16: Flight fares from Bagdogra have risen by two times or more over the past few days as train movement from north Bengal and the Northeast remained suspended for the fourth day today.

"There has been a rise in passenger traffic, particularly because of the halt in train movement. Today, there were 38 flight movements in Bagdogra and most were full. Over 3,000 passengers flew out and an equal number of people landed here," Rakesh Sahay, the director of the Bagdogra airport, said.

Airport sources said the last few days had seen around 20 per cent rise in the number of passengers.

The sudden rush is accompanied by a considerable rise in fares, which airline sources are attributing to the dynamic fare pricing model.

From Bagdogra, the usual fare to Calcutta is around Rs 3,000. It has shot up to Rs 7,000.

"The Bagdogra-Delhi fare, which usually varies between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000, has soared to Rs 11,000 or more. This is because all Delhi-bound trains have been cancelled," a representative of a ticket-booking agency said.

According to airport sources, flight fares are dynamic and expected to soar if there is a spike in demand.

"The fares are cheap if you book months in advance. But as the demand goes up, the fares increase. There cannot be any cap on such prices. If a passenger intends to buy a ticket a few hours ahead of the flight, he might have to pay a sum that is even higher than the current rates," a source said.

Justice (retired) Pranab Chattopadhyay said such a hike in fares during a natural calamity was "unfair and unjust".

"This is illogical and it can be challenged in court," he said.

Several passengers this newspaper spoke to at the Bagdogra airport said they were forced to fly as rail and road connectivity to Calcutta had become uncertain following the floods.

The situation slightly improved today, leading to resumption of road traffic along highways.

"Even then, the number of buses plying to Calcutta and other destinations in south Bengal, and Bihar are not enough compared with the number of stranded passengers," a Siliguri-based transporter said.

"The passengers bound for Delhi and other places in north India do not have the option to avail themselves of bus service unless they have planned a turnaround route via Calcutta or Patna. They have to depend on flights."

Officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) today said as many as 77 trains - including the Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express and the Darjeeling Mail - had been cancelled till August 20.

"So far, most of the damaged sites have remained inaccessible. We need some more time to initiate repairs. Water is above the danger level in at least four sections in North Dinajpur and Bihar. The damage of a bridge in Katihar (Bihar) has compounded the problem," an official said.

NFR sources said a pair of special trains between Guwahati and Dalkhola had been introduced.

"Water has receded from Kishanganj and we could run the train till Dalkhola. As several people have got stranded in the absence of trains, we have introduced this special train from today," the official said.

The train will leave Guwahati at 6.30am and arrive at Dalkhola at 5pm. The other train will leave Dalkhola at 6.30am and reach Guwahati at 5.30pm.