NEW DELHI: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday urged all airlines to take swift action to increase the number of flights from Srinagar to various cities across the country, following overwhelming demand from tourists seeking to return home after the Pahalgam terror attack a day earlier.An official release from the Director General of DGCA, Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, said, “The airlines are advised to take swift action to increase the number of flights in response to heightened demand and also to ensure uninterrupted connectivity from Srinagar to various destinations across India, facilitating evacuation of stranded tourists.”The release also urged airlines to consider waiving cancellation and rescheduling fees, and to provide necessary assistance to tourists facing difficulties.Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu cautioned airlines against fare hikes in response to the rush to leave Srinagar. Naidu posted on X: “Strict instructions were given to airline companies to avoid any fare surges. Fares are being monitored and kept at reasonable levels.”Three more flights from Srinagar to Delhi – two IndiGo flights and a SpiceJet flight – were operated on Wednesday, in addition to the four extra flights already announced, he stated. He added that airlines have waived fees typically levied for cancellations and rescheduling.Food and water were being provided at Srinagar airport, with an extra tent set up for passengers waiting to depart. “Between 6 am and 12 pm today, Srinagar handled 20 departures with 3,337 passengers,” Naidu said.However, a few posts on X challenged this, highlighting the exorbitant fares being charged by airlines. Arjun Chauhan posted a screenshot showing fares from Srinagar to Kolkata ranging between Rs 32,000 and Rs 37,000. “Just look at how private airlines are charging 3x more fare from the panic stricken tourists of J&K,” he said.Several other posts on X also pointed to surging prices for flights to Kolkata.A post by ‘@_BringToLight’ noted that an airline was charging Rs 23,000 for a flight from Srinagar to Delhi departing at 10:30 pm on Wednesday.In a statement, the Ministry of Tourism urged all stakeholders in the tourism industry to waive cancellation fees for accommodations and tours in light of the Pahalgam incident.A statement from Tourism Secretary V Vidyavathi said, “It is requested that all the tourist service providers, travel agents, tour operators, Online Travel Aggregators (OTAs), tourist transport providers, hoteliers and all other accommodation units may provide all possible assistance to the tourists including waiving off cancellation fees.”
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