The soaring costs of domestic air travel in India have left many travelers shocked, with some finding it more economical to fly internationally than to certain domestic destinations. Stand-up comedian Ankit Grover recently shared an instance highlighting this trend.
Grover, based in London, revealed that a flight from Delhi to Jaisalmer was priced at an astonishing Rs 31,000 per person. In contrast, an international flight to Dubai cost him Rs 30,000 per person — a lower fare for a longer journey. Planning a trip to Jaisalmer for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, Grover was taken aback by the steep domestic ticket prices and ultimately opted for the Dubai flight instead.
The comedian shared his experience in an Instagram comment, which has now gone viral on X (formerly Twitter). However, he did not mention the specific dates or times when he checked the ticket prices. “For my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary, I was booking tickets to Jaisalmer. Delhi to Jaisalmer flight was 15K pp and when I was about to book after a gap of 3-4 days, it shot to 31K pp. I ended up booking Dubai for 30Kpp,” he wrote in his Instagram comment. He added, “Who is at loss? Mera Bharat Mahan.” This comment was later shared by the account Gems on X with the caption, “Who is at loss?”
Many social media users expressed their shock and raised concerns about the soaring domestic flight prices. One user commented, “Yes of course mera Bharat Mahan, there are no regulations on fare charges. The government must intervene in this otherwise local tourism will get hampered.” Another added, “Ankit Groverni is at loss, Govt has Nothing to lose.”
A third user pointed out, “People are exploring foreign trips because of the same price range. Checkout Goa during the New Year, people prefer going to Vietnam or Thailand instead of Goa in the same price range. This needs some serious thinking among authorities.”