Hajj pilgrims departing from Karipur bear soaring flight charges

Kondotty: In the current scenario, Hajj pilgrims departing from Karipur airport are forced to shell out an extra cost of at least Rs 79,000 per ticket, compared to those flying from Kannur or Kochi airports. Despite a reduction in ticket prices at Kannur and Kochi airports compared to the previous year, the airfares for Hajj pilgrims have surged by Rs 45,000 per ticket at Karipur airport.

The tenders for the airline companies were opened up on January 18. While the Saudi Airlines have won the tender in Kochi and Kannur airports, Air India secured the Karipur tender. However, no official announcement has been made regarding these tenders so far. It is  rumoured that only Air India bid for the tender at the Karipur airport. And the figures quoted by the airlines for every single Hajj passenger flying from Karipur was a whopping Rs 1.65 lakhs for the air ticket. Meanwhile, Saudi Airlines has quoted Rs 86,000 for a single ticket from the other two airports.