Why flying to Gulf countries is suddenly so expensive
Flights between India and the Gulf have suddenly become much pricier after the recent Israel-Iran conflict.
Following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, airlines had to pay extra for war-risk insurance and avoid certain airspaces, so ticket prices have jumped to three or four times what they used to be.
Ticket prices have shot up
Dubai-Delhi tickets that typically cost ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 are now going for ₹50,000 to ₹60,000.
These steep prices are being driven by a combination of higher war-risk insurance premiums, rising jet-fuel costs and operational disruptions.
Airlines are bearing the brunt
On top of expensive tickets, airlines face added costs like war-risk premiums (about ₹30 lakh to ₹40 lakh per round trip for narrow-body aircraft; around ₹90 lakh to ₹1 crore for wide-body aircraft) and higher fuel surcharges.
This means passengers are paying an extra ₹20,000 to ₹35,000 per seat as the estimated per-passenger share of the war-risk premium alone; fuel surcharges and other operating cost increases would be additional.
Aviation fuel prices up by 30%
The conflict has led to widespread flight cancelations and substantial losses for airlines.
With aviation fuel prices up 30%, some carriers have introduced fuel surcharges, making flying even more expensive for everyone.