Kerala: Seasonal hike' hits Gulf travel

Kozhikode: With the arrival of the Christmas-New Year season, airline passengers, especially those travelling from Gulf countries to Kerala, are being made victims of exorbitant ticket fares targeted at those flying to their home land for spending the holiday season with their dear ones. The middle-income families are worst affected as they have to plan in accordance with the holidays of their children studying in various schools in the Gulf.

Passengers point out that in comparison, their counterparts of neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were not looted this much. They add that, going by nautical miles, travelling to New York would be cheaper than travelling from Dubai to Karipur at this time of the year.

"The aim of the airlines is to simply loot the passengers during the holidays, once during March and April and then again during winter holidays, when the fares sky rockets," said K.M. Basheer, a frequent flyer to the Gulf countries from Calicut International Airport, Karipur.

"There are no regulations on the price increase even after repeated requests by several passenger unions in the past. Those who are maximum hit by the exorbitant fares are the middle-income employees who are living with families and cannot postpone their annual journeys back home and are forced to book tickets, calculating on the holidays of their children," he added.

He points out that when the distance between Karipur and New York is 7267.25 nautical miles, the airfare is only Rs 37,000 to Rs 57,000, whereas the fare for a one-way ticket to Dubai, which is just 1436.42 nautical miles, will go up to Rs 20,000 or more in the peak seasons.