Iran war: Over 700 flights cancelled, international airfares zoom in India

KOLKATA/HYDERABAD: One-way economy class fare on a direct flight from London to Mumbai on European carriers that bypass Gulf sectors zoomed to about Rs 2.9 lakh and business class in the same flight to a staggering Rs 9 lakh on Monday, thanks to the ongoing war involving Iran versus US and Israel that has engulfed the entire Gulf region.

Usually, one-way economy fare between the two cities is Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 while the business class fare is Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh. Air India and IndiGo also operated some flights at record fares.


Airlines said the fare hike was partly on account of longer routes they had to take to bypass the Gulf sector, but mainly on account of the demand-supply gap, with over 700 flights cancelled daily on account of the hostilities. Though Etihad started evacuation flights and Emirates said it would follow suit on Tuesday (over 20,000 Indians are stranded in UAE), the carriers cancelled scheduled flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Kolkata airport officials said Gulf-based carriers announced the cancellation of 20 flights over two days.

Roma Subnani was scheduled to travel to Dubai on Sunday with four family members to attend a function. The trip was called off after their flight was cancelled. “We were booked on Emirates. We placed a request for a refund but have been unable to contact the customer care,” she said.

Travel agents who had clients booked to travel to either cities in the Gulf or onwards to Europe or the US advised them to defer their trips.

“Given the current fares, it does not make sense to travel to Europe unless one has urgent business commitments,” said Travel Agents Federation of India chairman (East) Anil Punjabi. “There is no clarity on when the situation will improve,” said travel agent Manav Soni.

Passengers flying out of Hyderabad to cities such as London and Frankfurt too are facing steep fare hikes. On Tuesday, one-way fare from Hyderabad to London ranged between Rs 65,000 and Rs 90,000, nearly double the usual fare for this sector. Fares to destinations in Germany have jumped by 200% to 300%, travel agents said.

Similarly, long-haul routes to the US have also become more expensive. Tickets for flights from Hyderabad to New York via Ethiopia, were priced at around Rs 1.5 lakh on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, air connectivity between the UAE and Hyderabad remained severely disrupted. Hyderabad records an average of 5,000 passengers travelling daily between the city and the UAE, its busiest international hub. On Monday alone, more than 50 flights were cancelled at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

“I have my flight from Hyderabad to Dubai on March 3. The status shows it as cancelled. I tried calling the airline multiple times, but the lines were busy. Kindly reschedule my booking,” posted Shariq Siddiqui on X.

“Flights to North America and Europe will operate per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the West Asia, which is expected to add to flying time,” said an AI spokesperson.


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