With the Jammu-Srinagar highway is blocked for the last several days due to landslides, air travel has become the only option to move in and out of the Kashmir. But as demand spikes, so have the ticket prices—raising questions of fairness and access.
A one-way ticket from Srinagar to Delhi for April 23 ranges between ₹18,000 and ₹35,000, while longer routes like Bangalore touch ₹39,000. Tickets to Kashmir have seen a similar surge, impacting both locals and tourists.
“I have my semester exams next week in Delhi. I had to take a loan just so I could buy the ticket,” said Mariya Wani, a student at Jamia Millia Islamia. “It feels like being trapped.”
Truck driver Shabir Ahmad from Anantnag remains stranded near Ramban. “It’s been four days. We’re sleeping in the vehicles, spending money on food and water while our goods spoil,” he said.
Travel agents, too, are worried. “We had expected April to be a good season, but tourists are canceling because they can’t afford the fares,” said Showkat Bhat, a Srinagar-based tour operator. “This is going to be a huge blow to the local economy.”
Consumer rights activists are calling the airfare surge exploitative. “This is not normal market fluctuation—this is profiteering in a crisis,” said Parveen Kumar, a consumer rights advocate based in Delhi. “The government must intervene to cap prices in emergency situations. Essential travel cannot be a luxury.”
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
