Getting here · fares as of July 2026
How to reach the Andaman Islands
The short version: you fly to Port Blair. There is no road or rail to the mainland, so every visitor arrives by air at Veer Savarkar International Airport (code IXZ) — or, rarely, by a slow passenger ship. Below is exactly how the flights work, what they cost by city, when to book, the ship option told honestly, and one arrival rule we ask every guest to follow so a delayed flight never costs them a beach.
Fly to
Port Blair (IXZ)
Veer Savarkar International Airport — the one gateway to the islands.
Direct daily from
Chennai · Kolkata · Bengaluru · Delhi · Hyderabad · Mumbai
Winter schedule 2026–27, to 27 March 2027. Bhubaneswar flies direct four days a week. From other cities, connect through a direct one.
From abroad
Via an Indian city
The schedule we track is domestic. The Airports Authority did record international traffic at Port Blair in 2024–25, but we have not checked any international route — plan on connecting through an Indian city.
Step one: fly to Port Blair
The Andamans sit about 1,200 km off India's east coast, so there is no driving and no train. Every arriving traveller lands at Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ) in Port Blair, and from there the islands open up by ferry. The airport's name carries "international". The Airports Authority recorded international traffic there in 2024–25 — 112 aircraft movements and 9,929 passengers — but the schedules we track are domestic and we have not checked any international route, so plan on flying into an Indian city first — Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai or Hyderabad — and connecting onward to Port Blair from there.
Six cities fly direct to Port Blair every day of the winter 2026–27 schedule — Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai — and Bhubaneswar four days a week. That is more than the old advice admits — everything does not route through Chennai — but the direct map also moves with the season: in summer 2026 Hyderabad's nonstop paused for the monsoon and Mumbai's flew only in October, which is why we check what is actually flying on your dates. Chennai and Kolkata, at about two hours, are the shortest of the daily routes, and Kolkata carries the most flights.
Who flies there: five airlines serve Port Blair in the winter 2026–27 schedule — IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air and SpiceJet. Which of them operates your particular route changes with the season and the schedule, so we check what is actually flying on your dates rather than assuming. One thing worth knowing whoever you fly: Port Blair has a single airport with one runway and limited daily slots, so flights fill and capacity does not get added on demand — book the flight before the hotel.
Flights to Port Blair by city (typical 2026 fares)
| Route | Return fare range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai → Port Blair | ₹4,500 – ₹13,500 | Daily direct, ~2 h — 4 flights a day · IndiGo, Akasa Air |
| Kolkata → Port Blair | ₹5,500 – ₹16,500 | Daily direct, ~2 h — 7 flights a day · IndiGo, Air India Express, Akasa Air, SpiceJet |
| Bengaluru → Port Blair | ₹6,600 – ₹20,000 | Daily direct, ~2.5 h · Air India Express, IndiGo; a third daily flight from 30 Nov, as filed (some dates from 30 Jan to 12 Feb and in late Mar disputed in the filing) |
| Delhi → Port Blair | ₹9,000 – ₹27,000 | Daily direct, ~3.5 h · Air India; Air India Express from 15 Nov |
| Mumbai → Port Blair | ₹7,800 – ₹22,000 | Daily direct, ~3 h 15 min · IndiGo, all winter |
| Hyderabad → Port Blair | Ask us | Daily direct, ~2.5 h · IndiGo; a second daily flight from 30 Nov |
| Visakhapatnam → Port Blair | Ask us | No direct flight in the winter filing — connect via another city; ask us and we check your date |
| Bhubaneswar → Port Blair | Ask us | Direct four days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun) · Air India Express |
Return fares as of July 2026 — market ranges, not quotes. Frequencies and flight times are from the winter 2026–27 schedule, valid to 27 March 2027. Full trip costing sits on our Andaman trip cost page.
Which cities fly direct — and why the usual advice is out of date
The direct network to Port Blair has grown, and a lot of travel advice has not caught up with it — but the network also has a season of its own. In the schedule airlines have filed for winter 2026–27 — 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027 — six cities fly direct every day and Bhubaneswar four days a week. The summer 2026 filing was smaller: Hyderabad was filed with a monsoon pause (1 July – 30 September) and Mumbai only from 1 to 24 October. The gap is not new — Mumbai carried no monsoon passengers in 2025 either — what is new is that the airlines now file it in advance. So if you were told you must connect through Chennai, check again; and if a booking site showed no Hyderabad nonstop last August, that was the schedule, not a glitch.
The honest caveat: routes here move season to season. The figures above come from the winter schedule; the summer 2027 schedule takes over after 27 March 2027 and can differ. Two things held in both 2026 filings — Kolkata and Chennai had the most flights and are the safest bets if your dates are rigid, and a connection is the leg that turns a delayed flight into a missed ferry, so leave it room. We check what is actually flying on your dates before anything is booked.
Routes, frequencies and airlines from the DGCA Approved Winter Schedule 2026–27 (published 22 October 2026, valid 25 October 2026 – 27 March 2027). Every flight number, its operating days and exact timings are on our Port Blair flight schedule page; the full 11-year analysis — and why the season keeps narrowing — is in our Andaman air connectivity study. We re-check against each new filing, and against live timetables when we book you.
When to book, to pay less
- Book 45–60 days out
That window usually lands the fair fares in our tables. Leaving it to the last few weeks is where the top of each range comes from.
- Peak fares run 2–3×
December–January flights can cost two to three times the normal fare. For Christmas and New Year travel, book as early as you can — the seats and the sane prices both go early.
- Fly mid-week
Tuesday and Wednesday departures usually price lower than weekends, on the same route. If your dates flex by a day, it can move the fare more than any coupon.
- One airport, one runway
Port Blair has a single airport (IXZ) with limited daily slots. Flights fill; they do not add capacity on demand. Book the flight before the hotel.
The ship option, told straight
There is a sea route, and people ask about it, so here it is honestly. Government passenger ships sail to Port Blair from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. On MV Swaraj Dweep, the ship on the current programme, a visitor's one-way fare runs from ₹4,115 for a bunk to ₹15,905 for a deluxe cabin, before taxes and port charges — return for return, only the bunk can be cheaper than flying — and the trade-offs are real: the crossing takes three to four days, there are one or two sailings a month from Chennai and fewer from the other two, and booking opens only on a date the shipping department announces with each programme.
| Sea route | Time at sea | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chennai → Port Blair | About 68 hours | The most frequent: one or two sailings a month. |
| Kolkata → Port Blair | About 94 hours | Roughly one a month, with gaps. |
| Visakhapatnam → Port Blair | About three days | About one a month from April to September 2026; none in the current programme. |
Our honest take: unless the voyage itself is the trip you want, fly — you would spend nearly six days at sea on the round trip from Chennai to save on a two-hour flight. The full picture — sailing dates, fares by class, how to book, and who should actually do it — is on our Andaman by ship guide.
Landing at Port Blair, and the one rule we ask you to follow
IXZ sits right inside Port Blair, so getting to your hotel is quick — most town hotels are a 10 to 20 minute drive, and it is a small single-terminal airport, so you are through and out fast. For our guests, a driver is waiting at the gate, so your first Andaman moment is a calm transfer rather than a haggle for a taxi.
The buffer rule · from experience
Do not plan a same-day flight-to-ferry connection. Land in Port Blair, spend Day 1 in Port Blair — Cellular Jail, Corbyn's Cove, a settled first night — and travel on to Havelock on Day 2. We learned this the hard way: a recent guest missed his Havelock ferry because his flight in was delayed by weather, and there was no later boat that day. Flights to Port Blair can slip, ferries leave on time and often sell out, and the two do not wait for each other. A buffer of a few hours is not enough — give it the night.
For the return journey, our published examples keep the final overnight in Port Blair before the flight. This separates the ferry and flight days; it is not a full extra buffer day or a guarantee against disruption. Discuss additional time if your onward connection needs it.
Onward: ferries between the islands
Once you have landed and had your Port Blair day, the islands are linked by ferry. Port Blair to Havelock (Swaraj Dweep) runs both government and private cruise services; Neil (Shaheed Dweep) is reached the same way. The private ferries — Makruzz, Nautika and Green Ocean — leave Port Blair from Haddo jetty (gate 3, our Port Blair team said on 5 October 2026); the terminal printed on your ticket is the one that counts. A fourth operator, ITT, runs only in season. Private cruises are faster and bookable in advance; government ferries are cheaper but harder to time — which is another reason we sequence the ferries for our guests rather than leave them to chance at the jetty. The day-by-day flow is laid out on our Andaman itinerary guide, and for standalone ferry tickets our team also runs bookyourferry.com.
Ferries between the islands, live
Andaman ferry schedule · BookYourFerry.com — our founders' ferry-booking platform.
Getting-here questions, answered straight
How do you reach the Andaman Islands?
You fly. The only practical way to reach the Andamans is a flight to Port Blair — Veer Savarkar International Airport, airport code IXZ. There is no road or rail link to the mainland, and while passenger ships do run, they take three to four days and sail only once or twice a month at most. For almost everyone, a flight is the answer, and Port Blair is the single gateway you arrive through.
Is there a direct flight to the Andaman Islands?
Yes. In the winter schedule 2026–27 (25 October to 27 March), six cities have daily direct flights to Port Blair — Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai — and Bhubaneswar has one four days a week. Chennai and Kolkata, at about two hours, are the shortest of the daily routes. The direct map moves with the season — in summer 2026 Hyderabad paused for the monsoon and Mumbai flew only in October — so we confirm what is actually flying on your dates. Cities not on that list have no direct flight in the filing; you connect through one that does.
Which cities have flights to Port Blair?
Seven cities are in the winter schedule 2026–27, which runs from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027. Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai fly daily all season; Bhubaneswar flies four days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Visakhapatnam has no direct flight in this filing — its last one was filed to mid-April 2026. Kolkata has the most flights, seven a day, then Chennai with four; they are the safest bet if your dates cannot move. From anywhere else you connect through one of the direct cities. Our fare table above shows typical return prices by city.
Can you reach the Andamans by ship?
You can, but most people should not. Government passenger ships run from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. The crossing takes three to four days — 68 hours from Chennai, 94 from Kolkata — with one or two sailings a month from Chennai and fewer from the other two, on a programme that shifts. On MV Swaraj Dweep, the ship on the current programme, a visitor's one-way fare runs from ₹4,115 for a bunk to ₹15,905 for a deluxe cabin, before taxes and port charges; return for return, only the bunk can be cheaper than flying. Tickets are sold by the shipping department, online and at its counters, from a date it announces with each programme. Unless the voyage itself is the point of your trip, fly.
Do you have to connect through Chennai or Kolkata?
Not from most big cities this winter. From Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad or Mumbai you fly direct every day of the winter schedule, and from Bhubaneswar four days a week. Summer is different: in 2026 Hyderabad's nonstop paused from 1 July to 30 September and Mumbai's ran only from 1 to 24 October. From cities without a direct flight you connect year-round. This is exactly why we check your actual dates against the current filing rather than quoting a rule of thumb. From abroad, plan on connecting through an Indian city: the schedules we track are domestic, and we have not checked any international route into Port Blair.
How far is the airport from Port Blair town?
Very close. Veer Savarkar Airport (IXZ) sits right inside Port Blair — most town hotels are a 10 to 20 minute drive, and even the far side of town is under half an hour. It is a small, single-terminal airport, so arrivals move quickly. For our guests we have a driver waiting at the gate, so the first thing that happens is a calm transfer, not a scramble for a cab.
Planning the rest of the trip? See what it all costs, the day-by-day itinerary, the entry permits and requirements, the weather, and the best time to visit.
How this page stays true
Written by the Tropical Andamans editorial team from our own experience moving guests to and around the islands · flight fares are market ranges verified by our Port Blair operations team, as of July 2026, rechecked quarterly and before each peak season. Fares, flight times and ship schedules move — they are guides, not guarantees. The day-1 buffer rule comes from a real guest who missed his ferry after a weather delay; it is the one piece of advice on this page we will not soften. The ship summary was updated on 5 October 2026 from the shipping department's fare order, sailing programmes and enquiry service.
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