Airlines double ticket prices to cash in on Odisha train accident, despite DGCA warning
Flight fares soared over the weekend following Odisha train accident. Photo: Twitter/Milan_reports
On Friday evening (June 2) a devastating multiple-train collision in Odisha killed 275 people and injured over a thousand others. The accident cut off all train operations in the area and to various cities over the weekend.
- On June 3, several people were stranded at a Bengaluru railway station after about 33 trains were cancelled owing to the accident.
- On the other hand, as soon as the news of the accident broke, flight fares to cities such as Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Vizag, Hyderabad, and Chennai more than doubled.
- The rise in prices came even as the Ministry of Civil Aviation asked Airlines to keep the prices from soaring given the humanitarian crisis.
Ministry of Civil Aviation sends an advisory to airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports of Odisha in view of #OdishaTrainMishap: Ministry of Civil Aviation
— ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2023
Further, any cancellation and rescheduling of flights due to the…
- The Ministry even asked Airlines not to levy penalty charges on cancellation or change of plans.
However, flyers still reported a significant increase in fares on several flight routes.
Some even said that Bhubaneshwar to Chennai flight which usually costs around Rs 4,000 is costing a whopping Rs 60k+.
Bhubaneswar to Chennai flight cost is around Rs 4000
— Sacheev Ji (@mrlostandfaded) June 4, 2023
Just checked now its around Rs 60000
Same thing happened during covid time.
This things brings more pain to people when in immediate need.
Pls share it.@JM_Scindia @DGCAIndia @RailMinIndia#OdishaTrainAccident #Odhisa pic.twitter.com/kpLysVQZWM
On the Bhubaneswar to Kolkata route, flight fares were around Rs 12,000 on June 4 (Sunday), while a Twitter user said that regular prices are around Rs 3,500 to Rs 6,000.
Are they paying heed to such advisories ? Price of flight from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata was around 12000/- on 04th June (Sunday). Regular price is Rs 3,500 ( dynamic pricing max 6,000/- ). #aviationministry pic.twitter.com/JMV6F9a6ma
— Prabhu Kalyan Nayak (@PrabhuKalyanNa3) June 4, 2023
Twitter users accused Airlines of using a disaster to cash in on profits and asked the Aviation Ministry to interfere.
Bhubaneswar -Kolkata flight rate 66K? What the Aviation minister of the country without any airlines is doing? Profit from a disaster, that's the new India's business demons.
— Kedar Mishra (@MishraKedar1) June 4, 2023
Flights between Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata were also much higher than flights from Bengaluru to Kolkata, which is usually not the case.
Flight ticket cost
— Sidhartha Patra (@PatraSidhartha) June 4, 2023
Bhubaneswar - Kolkata
VS
Bangalore - Kolkata
After this do we need Civil Aviation minister in India?@JM_Scindia where r u ? pic.twitter.com/wBeH392Lm8
Times of India reported that flight prices for Kolkata-Hyderabad, which usually start from around Rs 6,000, were costing Rs 18,000 on Sunday.
We checked the current prices of flights on some of these routes and found that prices have since normalised.
On the other hand, the restoration process in the Balasore area has allowed for train operations to resume.
#WATCH | Balasore, Odisha: Train movement resumes in the affected section where the horrific #BalasoreTrainAccident happened that claimed 275 lives. Visuals from Bahanaga Railway station. pic.twitter.com/Onm0YqTTmZ
— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023
Three trains were involved in the ghastly accident - the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The train accident is the third biggest in India's history and there are several unanswered questions on how and why it happened.