Airfares for flights from Srinagar this weekend have shot up to abnormally high levels after the Jammu and Kashmir state government issued an advisory urging pilgrims to curtail their Amarnath Yatra and return as soon as possible.
For a one-way direct flight from Srinagar to Delhi, even low-cost airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia are charging between Rs 10,000 to Rs 22,000, according to travel portals. The normal rates generally hover around Rs 3,000.
Similarly, from Srinagar to Jammu, the current flight rates are around Rs 16,000. Other places like Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur also witnessed a jump in airfares ranging between Rs 10,000 to Rs 19,000.
Web portals of several airlines with flights from Srinagar on Saturday and Sunday showed that all virtually all seats have been sold with just a few remaining.
