In a statement here, KATA said it was all the more serious that the fares were hiked at a time when there was heavy post-vacation rush to the Gulf countries from Kerala.
Association president K V Muraleedharan wanted Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and central ministers from the state to urgently take up the issue with the Civil Aviation Ministry to bring relief to thousands of passengers.
"The increase has been as high 500 to 600 per cent. This has come as a blow to a large number of people returning to the Gulf after the summer vacation of their children," the statement said.
The association said Non-resident Keralites (NRKs) had become worst victims of the pilots' strike as cancellation of flights had been exploited as an opportunity by private airlines, including foreign ones, to reap undue profit by steeply increasing the fares.