DUBAI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As schools in the Middle East prepare to close for the summer holidays, non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Kerala are facing a familiar and crippling hurdle: exorbitant flight fares. The massive hike in ticket prices by both domestic and international airlines has forced thousands of expatriate families to abandon or postpone their annual trips to their hometowns.
Travel agencies report that economy-class airfares from major Gulf hubs—such as Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, and Muscat—to destinations like Kochi, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram have surged by three to four times their regular rates. A ticket that usually costs around ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 during off-peak seasons is currently being priced anywhere between ₹40,000 to ₹60,000 for travel in July and August.
For a standard family of four, the sheer cost of travel has become financially unviable, eating into hard-earned savings. "We wait all year for the children's school holidays to visit our parents in Kerala. But this year, the travel cost alone is equivalent to my three months' salary. We have no choice but to cancel our trip," shared an expatriate working in Dubai.
Expatriate organizations and social workers have strongly condemned what they term as "daylight robbery" by airline cartels. Various NRI forums have submitted urgent memorandums to the Central Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Kerala State Government, demanding immediate intervention. They are urging the deployment of additional flights, special chartered services, and a cap on dynamic pricing during peak vacation seasons to provide relief to the working-class diaspora.