Sky-high fares post Pahalgam attack spark fury, Centre rushes to ground greed

Authorities have intervened after airfares from Srinagar skyrocketed following the terror attack in Pahalgam. Yet, the situation remains far from stabilising, much to the consternation of tourists stuck in Jammu & Kashmir and wanting to leave en masse back to their homes.

“In the wake of the tragic terror attack, we are constantly making efforts to ensure safe travel of tourists from Srinagar,” said Civil Aviation minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu on Wednesday evening. 

“Strict instructions were given to airline companies to avoid fare surges. Fares are being monitored and kept at reasonable levels,” he added.

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That may have been too late. Shortly after reports of the attacks came in and fear-stricken domestic tourists tried to flee the Valley, airfares started to spike. Srinagar-Kolkata fares were posted on X at above Rs 60,000, while the cheapest Srinagar-Bengaluru fare THE WEEK could find on Wednesday morning was around Rs 25,000, multiples of what it is during normal times.

As public ire rose over—as one social media user put it— “how shamelessly these private airlines are making hefty profits out of a tragedy", the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) swung into action, advising airlines to “take swift action to increase the number of flights ... facilitating the evacuation of stranded tourists”.

While authorities are also believed to have instructed airlines to ensure that fares remain below Rs 14,000, news agency ANI tweeted that flight tickets remain exorbitantly high. The lowest rate this correspondent could find for a Srinagar-Mumbai flight for tomorrow (Thursday) was Rs 15,098 on ixigo (as of Wednesday evening, with no flights left for today).

Both Air India (AI) and Indigo operated two special flights today, while SpiceJet operated one. AI claimed that it has capped its fares on the Srinagar route, and that “any high fares shown on booking sites may be due to multi-stop routes or higher cabin classes, offering a mix of direct or indirect options”.

Both Indigo and SpiceJet added that they would waive off all rescheduling and cancellation charges on tickets from and to Srinagar until April 30 (for bookings made on or before April 22).

Civil Aviation minister Naidu is believed to be in touch with airlines to do more.

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