India, 20 April 2026: Leading global travel app Skyscanner extended cricket fandom beyond stadium stands and into the travel choices fans make around IPL fixtures with ‘Hotline to SKY’, a first‑of‑its‑kind travel helpline featuring pre‑recorded tips voiced by cricketer and brand ambassador Suryakumar ‘SKY’ Yadav. Designed to help fans navigate match‑day travel during the ongoing IPL season, the hotline invited callers to access quick, practical guidance on planning their journeys.
In just eight days, the activation logged over 3,000 calls, underlining how live sport is increasingly shaping domestic travel decisions. By blending cricket culture with everyday travel dilemmas, the hotline delivered concise advice on flying smarter, staying flexible and finding better value as fixtures unfold across India.
SKY‑led social reels extended the hotline’s impact, translating match‑day curiosity into practical travel considerations for fans.
What cricket fans were calling about
Call data highlights how closely fans are thinking about travel alongside the tournament:
- 35% of callers tuned in specifically for last‑minute travel planning tips, navigating sudden schedule changes and high‑demand routes
31% of callers were interested to learn about longer itinerary planning and budget friendly ways to travel
- Nearly 1 in 7 callers dialed in for a quick “vibe check” with SKY, adding a personal, mood‑driven layer to the experience
Beyond the hotline, the campaign reached nearly 20 million people via outdoor billboards across Delhi and Mumbai, and over 1 million through social engagements across channels.
What Fans Discovered on the Hotline
As IPL 2026 runs from 28 March to 31 May, bringing new venues, packed weekends and shifting fixtures, fans tapped into the hotline to simplify common match‑day travel challenges, including:
A new gateway into Mumbai’s match action
With Navi Mumbai International Airport opening ahead of this season, SKY pointed fans to Skyscanner’s Nearby Airports feature, helping them spot alternate routes into host cities. Skyscanner search data shows a 10x month‑on‑month spike in searches for Navi Mumbai International Airport over the 10–12 April match weekend, underlining growing awareness and intent.
Following the tournament, not just one team
For fans undecided on which matches to attend, the hotline spotlighted Skyscanner’s Explore Everywhere feature, enabling open‑ended discovery of where the best‑value matches are taking place. From high‑altitude fixtures in Dharamshala to classic rivalries at Eden Gardens, the feature encourages fans to build travel plans around experiences, not just locations.
Staying flexible when fixtures move
Recent schedule changes, such as the Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings match shifting from Ahmedabad to Chennai on 26 April, highlighted how dynamic the IPL calendar can be. SKY guided callers through Skyscanner’s Flexible Dates feature, helping them identify cost‑effective travel windows even when plans change late.
Tracking fares before the big games sell out
Ahead of blockbuster clashes like MI vs CSK on 23 April and its reverse fixture on 2 May, fans were encouraged to set up Price Alerts, allowing them to monitor fare movements and book at the right moment, before both flights and seats fill up.
Additionally, fans didn’t just call for logistics, many stayed on to hear SKY’s personal reflections on match‑day energy, pressure and preparation, making the experience feel as entertaining as it was useful. When asked about his favourite travel memory, SKY said “My favourite memories are when you see fans coming from another city, wearing their team’s jersey, full of belief. As a player, that energy hits different. That’s when you realise cricket is more than a game — it’s pure emotion.”
Cricket Travel Demand Accelerates
Skyscanner data indicates that interest in IPL‑linked travel continues to build across key host cities as marquee fixtures approach. Commenting on the campaign’s success, Neel Ghose, Skyscanner Travel Trends and Destinations Expert, said, “With cricket‑led travel now firmly established, we wanted to focus on making the planning itself simpler and smarter. By bringing Skyscanner’s tools — like Nearby Airports and Explore Everywhere — into an easy, conversational format through SKY, we’ve helped fans move quickly from curiosity to action. The response shows that people aren’t just asking ‘Should I go?’ but ‘How do I make this trip work?’ — and that’s exactly the gap this campaign set out to address.”
Designed as a quick, intuitive experience, the hotline followed a familiar behaviour: reaching for the phone when you need fast answers. Strong call‑completion rates across the activation further reflected how relevant the content felt during peak match weeks.
With key fixtures still ahead, Skyscanner expects momentum around match‑related travel to continue building through the remainder of the IPL season, as fans look for flexible, value‑driven ways to follow the action.
