MALAPPURAM: Taking advantage of the surge in Gulf passengers from August 20 to the first week of September, airlines are set to increase airline ticket fare. Air India Express ticket price from Kerala to Dubai this week is Rs 18,000. Usually it costs within Rs 10,000. Towards the end of August Rs 35,000 has to be paid. Ticket price on foreign flights is above Rs 40,000. The situation is similar in other Gulf countries. Big travel agencies are booking tickets en masse and reselling them. Connecting flights are also overcrowded due to lack of seats.
Rajesh, an expat and his four-member family returned to Kerala after four years. Their ticket fare costs Rs 1.5 lakh and they have to return before school reopening on August 28. The return ticket fare for four people costs Rs 1.40 lakh in Air India Express and above Rs 1.5 lakh in foreign airlines. Rajesh is wondering how to return.
Fares on Air India Express (from August 20) in Rupees
Kannur - Bahrain: 32,000
Bahrain - Kannur: 18,000
Kozhikode - Abu Dhabi: 29,200
Abu Dhabi- Kozhikode: 8,400
Kozhikode-Riyadh: 30,400
Riyadh- Kozhikode: 14,500
Kozhikode-Jeddah: 29,000
Jeddah- Kozhikode-: 17,000
Kochi-Doha: 44,600
Doha- Kochi: 15,200
Kochi-Abu Dhabi: 39,000
Abu Dhabi-Kochi: 9,700
Thiruvananthapuram- Muscat: 19,000
Muscat- Thiruvananthapuram: 8,800
Thiruvananthapuram-Sharjah: 35,000
Sharjah- Thiruvananthapuram: 12,700