Tourist dip after Pahalgam: Number of flights to Srinagar cut by half, airfares drop
According to the officials, the airport, which earlier operated 90 to 100 flights every day, now runs almost 50
As the number of tourists coming to the Valley dropped drastically after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and the subsequent anti-terror Operation Sindoor by India, the number of flights to and from the Srinagar airport has been cut to half even as the airfares have seen a dip.
According to the officials, the airport, which earlier operated 90 to 100 flights every day, now runs almost 50. On Thursday, 44 flights flew to and out of the Srinagar international airport.
“A total of 44 flights operated at the airport on Thursday with the arrival of 3,197 passengers and departure of 3,487, “ said an airport official.
Tour and travel operators say the airfares have dropped by two-third as compared to the same period last year or before the April 22 attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam.
At least 26 people, 25 tourists and a local, were killed in the terror strike.
“Due to the low tourist footfall, the airfares have considerably dropped. The Delhi-Srinagar and Mumbai-Srinagar fares have fallen to around ₹4,000 to ₹5,500. They otherwise used to range between ₹12,000 and ₹14,000,” said Farooq Ahmad, a tour and travel operator.
He said that before the April 22 attack, he travelled from Bangalore to Srinagar. “The fare in March was ₹18,000 for a one-way trip from Bangalore to Srinagar. Now, it is hardly ₹8,000,” he said.
Tourism stakeholders say there were bulk cancellations, almost 80% of bookings, after the Pahalgam attack, which increased to 95% after the “war like” situation.
There was some inflow of tourists for the past few days after airfares and hotel tariffs went down. Hoteliers have cut rates by almost 30%.
“Hotels in Kashmir are offering huge discounts and local tour operators attracting tourists with heavy discounts which is fetching some results,” said Travel Agents Association of Kashmir secretary general Sajad Ahmad Kralyari.
The Valley saw an exodus of tourists immediately after the terror attack in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam. On May 7, India launched precise missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation to the Pahalgam attack. Cross-border hostilities then claimed more than 25 lives before a ceasefire was announced on May 10.
The “Chalo Kashmir” campaign by Kolkata travel agencies and some other states has given a glimmer of hope for the tourism players in the Himalayan region, although most believe it will take time for the revival of the sector.
Kashmir has witnessed record tourist arrivals for the past three years. According to the tourism department, 34.98 lakh tourists visited the Himalayan valley in 2024, up from 31.55 lakh in 2023 and 26.73 lakh in 2022. This year, the number had reached 6 lakh before the Pahalgam attack.
