Iran war: Over 700 flights cancelled, international airfares zoom in India | India News

Kolkata/Hyderabad: One-way economy class fares on European carriers’ London-to-Mumbai direct flights bypassing the Gulf sectors were around Rs 2.9 lakh and business class fares on the same flight stood at Rs 9 lakh last Monday, thanks to the ongoing war between Iran vs the US and Israel that has gripped the entire Gulf region.Generally, one-way economy fares between the two cities are Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 and business class fares are Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh. Air India and IndiGo also operated some flights at record fares.Airlines said the fare hike was partly due to longer routes to bypass their Gulf sector, but mainly due to a demand-supply gap, with more than 700 flights canceled every day due to hostility. Although Etihad started evacuation flights and Emirates said it would follow up on Tuesday (over 20,000 Indians stranded in the UAE), the carriers canceled scheduled flights on Monday and Tuesday.Kolkata airport officials said that Gulf carriers have announced the cancellation of 20 flights in two days.Roma Subnani was supposed to go to Dubai on Sunday with four family members to attend a function. The tour was canceled after their flight was cancelled. “We were booked with Emirates. We requested a refund but could not contact customer care,” he said.Travel agents whose clients had booked trips to Gulf cities or Europe or the US advised them to postpone their trips.Anil Punjabi, Chairman (East), Travel Agents Federation of India, said, “Given the current fares, it does not make sense to travel to Europe unless there is an urgent business commitment. Travel agent Manav Soni said, “There is no clarity on when the situation will improve.Passengers traveling from Hyderabad to cities like London and Frankfurt are also facing steep fare hikes. On Tuesday, one-way fares from Hyderabad to London ranged between Rs 65,000 and Rs 90,000, almost double the typical fare in the sector. Destination fares in Germany are up 200% to 300%, travel agents said.Similarly, long-haul routes to the US have also become more expensive. A flight ticket from Hyderabad to Ethiopia via New York on Tuesday cost around Rs 1.5 lakh.Meanwhile, air connectivity between the UAE and Hyderabad has been severely disrupted. Hyderabad, its busiest international hub, carries an average of 5,000 passengers daily between the city and the UAE. More than 50 flights were canceled at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Monday alone.“I have a flight from Hyderabad to Dubai on March 3. The status shows it as cancelled. I tried calling the airline multiple times, but the lines were busy. Please reschedule my booking,” posted Shariq Siddiqui on X.“Flights to North America and Europe will operate as scheduled using alternate routing over available airspace in West Asia, which is expected to add flying time,” an AI spokesperson said.