Airfares from Srinagar have increased manifold as airlines cancelled flights to the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir due to heavy snowfall, forcing flyers to book fresh tickets at the jacked up fares.
A random check of airfares of different airlines from Srinagar to Delhi suggested that the spot fare was hovering around Rs 16,000. Normal fare between the two destinations is around Rs 5,000.
Voicing concern over the massive increase in airfares former J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted, "The airlines should be forced to honour previous bookings when flights resume instead they get away with refunding the original amount (sic)."
"Tickets between Srinagar & Delhi are being offered by 'low cost airlines' at between Rs 25,000 & Rs 30,000 while the highway remains closed.
"Thus forcing people who had originally spent Rs 5-6000 on a ticket to spend Rs 25-30,000. This is nothing but day light robbery," he said in a series of tweets.
According to Air India website, the airfares for its flight from Srinagar to Delhi for Tuesday is Rs 16,007, whereas a Jet Airways ticket for Wednesday was pegged at Rs 17,684.
According to IndiGo website, the airfares for its flight from Srinagar to Delhi for Sunday is Rs 12,109.
Tickets for days before that are either not available or sold out.
The air traffic to and fro Srinagar International Airport also remained suspended for the second day as the runway has been blocked by snow.
The arterial Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for the second consecutive day as the road has been blocked by snowfall and landslides at some places on the other side of Pir Panjal mountain range, an official said here.
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