Airfares in India have increased manifold due to the war in the Middle East, with over 700 flights cancelled.

On Monday, one-way economy class fares on a direct European airline from London to Mumbai rose to nearly ₹2.9 lakh, while business class fares on the same flight soared to a staggering ₹9 lakh. This was due to the ongoing war between the US, Israel, and Iran, which has engulfed the entire Gulf region.

One-way economy fares between the two cities typically range from ₹20,000 to ₹40,000, while business class fares range from ₹1.2 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh. Air India and IndiGo also operated some flights with steep fare increases.

Why did fares rise so significantly?

Airlines said the fare hikes were partly due to longer routes to bypass the Gulf region, but mostly due to a demand-supply gap, with more than 700 flights being cancelled daily due to the fighting.

Although Etihad had resumed evacuation flights and Emirates had said it would do the same on Tuesday (more than 20,000 Indians are stranded in the UAE), the airlines canceled scheduled flights for Monday and Tuesday.

Advising Passengers to Cancel Trips

Kolkata airport officials said Gulf-based carriers had announced the cancellation of 20 flights in two days. Travel agents whose clients had booked flights to Gulf cities or further to Europe or the US advised them to postpone their trips.

On Tuesday, one-way fares from Hyderabad to London ranged between ₹65,000 and ₹90,000, almost double the typical fare in this sector. Travel agents reported that fares to Germany had increased by 200% to 300%. Similarly, long-haul routes to the US have also become more expensive. Tickets for flights from Hyderabad to New York via Ethiopia cost around ₹1.5 lakh on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, air connectivity between the UAE and Hyderabad remained severely disrupted. Hyderabad handles an average of 5,000 passengers daily between the city and the UAE. More than 50 flights were cancelled at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Monday alone.