Kerala CM requests PM Modi to take initiatives to reduce airfares

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take necessary initiatives to reduce the exorbitant hike in airfares in the domestic and international sector.

“I write this letter to invite your kind attention to the substantial hike in airfares in all important domestic and international, which is adversely affecting a large number of our pravasis who travel to their home country in the vacation time. Besides, tourists have also started visiting after the decline in the incidence of Covid-19 pandemic. Kerala is very much affected and as a State with a substantial diaspora in many countries of the world and as an important tourist destination,” Vijayan wrote in a letter to PM Modi.

“One of the major key sectors affected by Covid-19 was the hospitality industry, including travel and tourism. Though this sector has been opened and has started functioning normally the new challenge which can be the reason for a setback to return to normalcy is the exorbitant airfares prevailing in both domestic and international sectors. Illustrative comparison of airfares in key international and domestic sectors clearly reveals this,” he said.

Vijayan, in his letter, also shared the pre-Covid fares and the present fares which show a massive hike.

From Cochin to Delhi, the fares jumped from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000, from Cochin to Bombay the fare was Rs 3,000 and the current fare is Rs 9,500, it went up from Rs 6,500 to Rs 2,500 from Cochin to Chennai and from Cochin to Kolkata, it jumped from Rs 3500 to Rs 1000.

Likewise in the international sector, the fare from Cochin to Dubai and Abu Dhabi was Rs 12,000 and now it jumped to Rs 40,000. From Cochin to London and New York, it doubled from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh and from Rs 65,000 to Rs 1,30,000 respectively.