New Delhi: Air India reduced fares of its Srinagar flights till August 15, a day after the Ministry of Aviation told all the airlines to curb the surging air ticket prices “for pilgrims returning from Amarnath dham”.
“In view of the prevailing circumstances, #AirIndia has decided to cap the fare @9500 for all #AirIndia flights to/from #Srinagar till 15th August,” Air India tweeted today.
In another tweet, the airline said: “#flyAI: #update #airindia further reduces fare at Rs. 6715 srinagar to del and at Rs. 6899 Delhi to srinagar till 15th aug (date included).”
#flyAI: #update #airindia further reduces fare at Rs 6715 srinagar to del and at Rs 6899 Delhi to srinagar till 15th aug (date included).
— Air India (@airindiain) August 4, 2019
Panic gripped the Kashmir Valley after the Jammu and Kashmir government’s security advisory on Friday for tourists and pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra to curtail their pilgrimage. The tourists and the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims started leaving the Kashmir Valley on Saturday, even as J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik said there was no need to panic. The airfares of the airlines rising to abnormally high levels also created panic among the tourists and the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims.
A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government issued a security advisory for tourists and pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra to curtail their pilgrimage, 6,216 passengers reported at Srinagar International Airport on Saturday to travel out of the Kashmir Valley.
The advisory to Amarnath pilgrims were issued after it was announced in a joint press conference of the Army and police forces in Srinagar that weapons and ammunition were recovered in the Amarnath Yatra route.
They also said terrorists from Pakistan were planning to launch an attack on Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, based on credible inputs.
Airfares for flights from Srinagar over the weekend shot up to abnormally high levels following the security advisory for tourists and pilgrims.
In view of the additional rush of passengers, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had on Friday asked Indian airlines to be prepared to operate extra flights to and from Srinagar to fly out Amarnath Yatris and tourists from the valley.
