Skyrocketing Onam Travel rates: Airfares from Kerala to Gulf countries go up by four times

The airlines assert that price increases in response to rising demand are a typical occurrence and that all airline firms adhere to the same pricing structure.

Exorbitant flight ticket costs are cause for concern for expatriates from Kerala who are travelling back to Gulf countries after the holidays. Airlines are demanding exorbitant rates, forcing expatriates to pay lakhs of rupees to return, as schools on the Arabian Peninsula resume next month. The cost of a ticket to Dubai from the airports in Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, and Karipur is more than Rs 25000 per person. Even if the travellers decide to travel soon, it would cost more than a thousand dirhams.

The cost of travelling from Kerala airports to the Gulf region is three times more than it is from major cities like Mumbai. In order to prepare for the influx of expats returning after the Onam celebration, rates are raised towards the end of this month and the beginning of September.

Currently, one-way tickets cost between Rs 40,000 and Rs 75,000 from Kerala to the Gulf region. Today, however, one can get a return trip from Gulf to Kerala for as little as Rs 10,000. One should be aware that even for services with a layover of 10 to 24 hours, tickets might cost up to Rs 37,000. The cost for passengers to switch flights to locations like Muscat and Colombo is high.

Flight charges from Thiruvananthapuram to Gulf destinations:

Dubai - 47,662 (Air India Express) Dubai - 72,143 (Emirates) Abu Dhabi - 74,403 (Air Arabia) Abu Dhabi - 39,788 (Air India Express) Sharjah - Riyadh - 78,972 (Air Arabia), Kozhikode - Doha - 39,375 (Air India Express) Abu Dhabi - Dammam - 70,426 (Etihad) Kuwait - 54,100 (Kuwait Airways).