Karipur: Airlines have drastically increased ticket fares to Gulf destinations—by as much as 10 times—taking advantage of the seasonal demand. As families return to the Gulf following summer holidays in India, passengers are being burdened with exorbitant costs. A family of four is now faced with an additional expense of ₹80,000 to ₹1 lakh on air travel alone.

On the Kozhikode–Dubai route, tickets that were previously available for under ₹10,000 are now priced between ₹34,792 and ₹1,34,225. After mid-September, fares are expected to drop again to around ₹9,693. Similarly, fares from Kozhikode to Sharjah have surged from ₹7,500 to between ₹34,540 and ₹1,34,255, and are expected to fall below ₹15,000 by mid-September.

Airfares to Abu Dhabi currently range from ₹31,326 to ₹1,34,255, but are likely to dip below ₹10,000 by September. Travel to Dammam, which used to cost around ₹8,000, is now priced between ₹34,540 and ₹1,34,255. These fares too are projected to return to under ₹15,000 shortly.

On the Kozhikode–Al Ain route, ticket prices now range from ₹35,298 to ₹78,718. For Doha, fares have climbed to between ₹35,882 and ₹1,32,416. Just two weeks ago, tickets to all of these destinations were available for less than ₹10,000.

Fares to Jeddah and Riyadh have seen some of the steepest hikes, now costing between ₹45,000 and ₹3,87,157—up from previous rates of under ₹15,000. These too are expected to decrease to around ₹10,000 by mid-September.

Currently, flights from Kerala to Gulf countries are operating at full capacity, yet no additional services have been introduced to meet the surge in demand.

With the academic year having commenced on August 25 in most Gulf schools, many families have no choice but to travel immediately. Exploiting this urgency, airlines significantly inflate fares during this period—an annual pattern that continues unchecked.