Travel to US opens, ticket prices skyrocket as booking frenzy begins

After 18 months of wait the U.S. is lifting all restrictions for fully-vaccinated international travellers from November 8. This has led to a frenzy of booking on travel portals and resulted in ticket pries surging to 2-3 times the average pricing from India. An average economy ticket from Delhi is over Rs 1.2 lakh a jump of over 50% from pre-covid times.

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The rush of travel is from existing US visa holders as there are no appointments for Visitors’ Visa for those applying afresh at the US Embassy for the next five months. The next slot for interview for a Visitors Visa at the US Embassy in New Delhi is available only after March 20, 2022.

But this is not a phenomena restricted to India as travel opens for 33 countries across the globe. Big carriers including Air France, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines are scrambling to meet the sudden surge in demand, adding flights, swapping in bigger planes for smaller ones and redoubling efforts to hire and retain staff.

British Airways saw a 900 percent jump in searches for flights and holiday packages to key US destinations compared with the week before reports AFP.