From 104 flights to 50: Srinagar Airport sees drastic drop in air traffic

Srinagar, June 12: A sharp drop in flight operations and passenger arrivals has hit Srinagar International Airport in the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists.

Official data accessed by Greater Kashmir reveals that both flight movements and air passenger volumes have been cut by nearly half.

On April 21 — a day before the attack — the airport recorded robust activity, handling 104 flights (52 arrivals and 52 departures) and a total of 19,641 passengers. That day, 9,640 passengers arrived in Srinagar and 10,001 departed.

Fast forward to June 11, the number of daily flights operating from the airport dropped to just 50 (25 arrivals and 25 departures), with a total of 7,762 passengers handled. Of these, 4,438 arrived in the Valley while 3,328 flew out.

The number of flights operating from Srinagar Airport has drastically dropped to an average 50 flights a day.

A senior airline executive attributed the scaling back to plummeting demand. “It is obviously due to demand. Earlier, the number of flights was increased to accommodate the tourist rush, but now the demand is very low. As a result, we have reduced 50 per cent of our fleet in the Srinagar segment,” he said.

The decline has triggered alarm across the tourism and aviation sectors, with the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) urging the government to step in with urgent relief measures. In a formal communication, the FIA — which includes major domestic carriers such as IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet, has appealed for a one-year waiver of the User Development Fee (UDF) and Aviation Security Fee (ASF) for all departing passengers from Srinagar Airport.

Currently, passengers departing from Srinagar pay Rs 1,050 as UDF and Rs 200 as ASF, plus applicable GST. The industry body believes waiving these fees could serve as an immediate incentive to encourage travel back to the region.

“May we request, if the government can waive both UDF and ASF for every departing passenger from Srinagar Airport for a period of one year with immediate effect. It will boost air travel demand to and from Srinagar airport,” the FIA said.

With tourism—a cornerstone of Kashmir’s economy—facing an acute slump, the airline body warned of far-reaching consequences unless measures are taken swiftly. “After the Pahalgam incident, tourists are terrified. No one is travelling to Kashmir for tourism. There is no demand for air travel. Hotels are empty,” the statement said.

Beyond appeals for fee waivers, the FIA has also called on the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to escalate the matter to the Ministry of Finance. It has also recommended aligning departure data with the already available APIS (Advance Passenger Information System) submitted to the Bureau of Immigration to streamline security-related protocols.

If granted, the proposed fee waivers could provide much-needed breathing space to the airline industry and act as a crucial stimulus to revive air traffic and tourism in the Valley. For now, however, Kashmir’s skies remain a barometer of a tourism season interrupted and a region still reeling from tragedy.