Ram Mandir Inauguration: Bengaluru-Ayodhya airfare and hotel rates soar

According to ticketing agencies, for a one-way flight from Bengaluru to Lucknow, which is the closest city to Ayodhya, on January 20, the cheapest ticket is priced at approximately Rs 8,000. Most flights around that weekend are almost sold out, with only a handful of seats available.

While there are currently no direct flights between Bengaluru and Ayodhya, Air India Express will operate thrice-weekly direct flights starting January 17 – every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Most travellers will need to spend at least six-eight hours on the way to reach Ayodhya, with at least one stop-over in either New Delhi, Gwalior, Mumbai or Ahmedabad.

With flights from Bengaluru to Ayodhya packed around the day of consecration on January 22, a flood of visitors from the IT hub is expected to throng the areas adjoining the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple site on the weekend preceding the opening of the temple. 

For January 20, the priciest ticket is going for Rs 29,700 – for a flight departing Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru at 1 pm and reaching Ayodhya at 11 pm, after a five-hour layover in Ahmedabad.

Hotel industry gets ready:

Leading up to the temple inauguration, Ayodhya is also seeing a boom in the construction of hotels and hospitality facilities. 

‘Occupancy rates have risen from 80% to 100%, resulting in substantial price hikes, reaching up to Rs 70,000 per night in select hotels,’ a report said.

Though the consecration will be an invite-only ceremony, common people have made plans for their Ayodhya trip to savour the experience albeit from a distance.