Representation image of Srinagar airport | Photo credit: Nissar Ahmad

To bring the tourists stranded from J&K back, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said that 110 flights, including eight additional services, were operated that connected the Srinagar airport, which managed more than 14,000 passengers on Thursday (April 24, 2025) and stressed that air aeras on the route have been reduced by two days.

In the midst of many people who express their concern about the high air rates, the ministry said to connect flights, the airlines generally implement a rate structure that adds the costs of each individual segment of the trip and also that in certain cases, the prices of economic class and executive class tickets are intermingled.

Following the terrorist attack of Pahalgam in which at least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed on Tuesday, a large number of tourists have returned from J & K. To facilitate their trip, the airlines operate additional flights and the ministry is monitoring the prices of air tickets to ensure that there is no peak.

The official data showed that Srinagar’s airport had 57 flight arrivals and 53 flight departures, driving a total of 14,197 6 am to 8 pm passengers on Thursday.

Cancellation/reprogramming rates reborn

The Ministry said the airlines have renounced cancellation and reprogramming rates, and the flight capabilities that Srinagar connect.

“A remarkable reduction in Srinagar air rates for two days has been observed. For example, a flight from Srinagar to Delhi, which had a price of more than RS 20,000 on April 21, 2025 has decreased to a more accessible rate, falling below RS 10,000 for April 24, 2025,” he said in a public notice.

Referring to social networks publications about Srinagar Altas air rates, the Ministry said that many of these publications show indirect tickets, which are a multiple or multiple stop, or tickets issued under business classes/premium classes that by their nature have a higher price than economic class tickets.

“Observations on several social networks platforms indicate that many complaints come from problems related to connection flights. For such flights, airlines generally implement a rate structure that adds the costs of each individual segment of the trip.

“Consequently, instead of providing a flat flat rate for the entire trip, airlines impose a cumulative prices model that reflects the rates associated with each leg of the trip,” the warning said.

In addition, the ministry said that when the economic class seats are completely reserved, the rates displayed automatically pass to the executive class, thus creating a misleading impression of inflated prices.

“Passengers are encouraged to ensure that they receive precise rates information, clearly categorized for the economy, the premium economy and the executive class.”