Airlines cash in on Jat protest, Amritsar-Delhi fare up 5-fold

Amritsar, February 21

Airlines and travel agents are making the most of the ongoing social unrest in Haryana by "overcharging" passengers for Delhi-bound flights.

With passengers outnumbering the available seats, the airfare for a single journey has soared to Rs18,000, which under normal circumstances hovers around Rs4,000.

At present, three airlines operate eight flights daily between Amritsar and Delhi. The national carrier, Air India, and Jet Airways operate three flights daily, while SpiceJet two.

There is not much improvement in the situation even as many airlines initiated additional flights to ferry passengers between the holy city and the National Capital. All three airlines operated more flights this evening, taking the total number of flights to 12 in a day.

Officials at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport said their helpline was flooded with calls from almost all parts of Punjab, including Patiala, Jagraon, Ludhiana, Nawanshahr and others, seeking reservation in flights.

Venkateshwar Rao, director, airport, said following a rush of passengers for Delhi flights, the AAI officials took up the matter with airlines and four more flights were flown today. All flights were flying with 100 per cent occupancy, he said.

An NRI passenger from Patiala said since he had to catch a flight to Canada from Delhi airport, he had no option but to pay more for a flight to Delhi. Many other passengers too expressed their inability to postpone their travel to Delhi.

CM seeks more flights

Chandigarh: With the Jat stir affecting road and rail connectivity in the region, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal raised the matter with Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju who agreed to start additional flights from Delhi to Chandigarh and Amritsar. Badal told him that a large number of people, especially students, had been adversely affected as many have to travel to Delhi to appear in entrance exams for educational institutions. He also brought to the Union Minister’s notice that some airlines were “exploiting” the situation by “overcharging” the passengers. The Minister apprised Badal of additional flights by Air India, Spice Jet, Indigo and Jet Airways. He also said Go Air and Vistara had been told to increase flights to Chandigarh, Jammu, Amritsar and Jaipur. — PTI

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