Organised loot by airlines in jacking up fares to Gulf countries: MP in Rajya Sabha
Gulf countries during the June to September holiday season have risen five-fold, causing financial hardships to poor labourers and the middle class migrants who want to visit India, a Rajya Sabha member said on Monday, asking the government to stop this "organised loot". Raising the issue +through a Zero Hour mention in the House, Jebi Mather Hisham (Congress) said June-September is normally a school holiday season in the Middle East countries but this has turned into a «horror season» due to the «exorbitant, exploitative and extortionist» airfares implemented by the airlines.
«We call it organised loot because it (the fare hike) has not doubled or tripled but has increased by more than five times,» she said.
Against the one-way fare of Rs 8,000 from Gulf countries to Kerala, a poor labourer is now having to shell out Rs 46,000 one-way and about Rs 1 lakh for return fare.
«How will the poor labourer pay, sir,» she said. «If a middle-class family of four has to travel, they have to ordinarily pay Rs 36,000 (but) now it will come up to Rs 3.64 lakh.»
The poor and the middle class who are toiling hard in the Middle East countries to bring in remittances are being put to such financial hardship by airlines jacking up fares in the months when they would normally visit India, she said.
Hisham, who has been elected to the Upper House from Kerala, said the airlines are invariably together coordinating the fare hike.
She went on to allege that the government is «a partner» in the «organised loot» when it washes its
