Despite clear directives from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to prevent surge pricing and ensure affordable travel during the evacuation effort in Srinagar, airlines continued to display exorbitant fares and limited availability, even as thousands of stranded tourists scrambled to leave the conflict-hit region.

The emergency measures came in response to the April 22 terrorist attack near Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had instructed airlines to cap prices, waive cancellation and rescheduling charges and deploy additional flights to major hubs such as Delhi and Mumbai.

Between 6 am and noon on April 23, Srinagar Airport operated four special evacuation flights—two each to Delhi and Mumbai—and three more relief services to Delhi later in the day. Within a span of six hours, 3,337 passengers were flown out. To accommodate the influx, airport authorities set up additional tents outside the terminal and distributed food and water to waiting travellers.

However, in stark contrast to these official efforts, commercial booking platforms showed steep ticket prices and limited seats. Economy fares from Srinagar to Delhi surged to ₹11,000–₹13,000 on IndiGo and SpiceJet, while Air India fares ranged between ₹21,000 and ₹23,000 for April 24. Many travellers encountered messages such as “sold out” or “flights too close to departure” when attempting same-day bookings.

The disconnect between policy and practice has raised serious concerns about crisis-time aviation management. While government and DGCA advisories called for “uninterrupted connectivity” and “reasonable fares,” the on-ground reality exposed weak enforcement and a lack of accountability.

Travellers have been urged to monitor official airline and government channels for updates on additional relief flights and to report instances of unfair pricing to the DGCA.