Amidst the political tension in Kashmir, Air India has reduced the maximum fare on flights connected Delhi and Srinagar. The capped fare will be in effect until Indian Independence Day on August 15, 2019. Under the capped rates, Srinagar-Delhi one-way fare costs Rs 6715 and Delhi-Srinagar tickets will have an upper limit of Rs 6,899. Other airlines, including GoAir and Vistara, have also capped the ticket rates of the flights flying out of Srinagar at Rs 10,000 till Independence Day.
Besides, the airlines have also announced to waive off the cancellation, date change charges.
“Heeding to the advice of the Minister Hardeep Singh Purim airlines have agreed to cap airfare to/from Srinagar. Air India has reduced the fare to Rs 6715 for Srinagar to Delhi and Rs. 6899 for Delhi and Srinagar until August 15,” Aviation Ministry tweeted on Sunday.
The sudden capping of ticket charges came after advice from the aviation ministry when flights flying out of Srinagar started witnessing a large surge of passengers during the weekend. The state government of Jammu and Kashmir asked tourists and Amarnath pilgrims to leave the state at the earliest following the declaration of emergency in the state. The airfares surged for some time on the weekend but soon came down to normal levels.
The civil aviation regulatory authority the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also asked the airlines to operate additional flights if needed.
The political tension in the state of Jammu and Kashmir began o Friday when Indian Army revealed that Pakistan-based terrorists were planning to target the ongoing Amarnath Yatra based on intelligence inputs. The Army’s disclosure prompted the Jammu and Kashmir administration to ask pilgrims and tourists on Friday to curtail their stay in the Valley and leave immediately.