Cong MP urges government to make air fares for Indian workers in Gulf affordable

NEW DELHI: Sounding alarm on the impact of the rising airfares on Indian workers in the Gulf region, Congress MP Vivek Tankha Friday urged the Modi government to make the fares affordable – either through price revision or subsidies -- so that workers can visit their families during the summer vacation from June to August.

Tankha shot off letters to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, foreign minister S Jaishankar and civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu, pointing out that the rising airfares have disturbed the system of summer travel of Indian workers that has prevailed till now.

Pointing out that over one crore Indians live and work across the Gulf region and UAE, Tankha said their employers provide a “fixed travel allowance” of 1000 dirhams per person for travel. He said the money till now was enough for the workers to visit their families once every summer. But, he said, the airfares on these routes have doubled and the allowance no longer covers even half of the fare. “The result is that millions of family members who otherwise would meet annually simply are not able to visit India as it is no longer affordable. The economic burden is real,” he said.

Tankha urged the three ministers to review the fare structures on India-Gulf/UAE routes and restore them to an affordable level or provide subsidies from June to August. He said expanding the frequency and availability of budget airline operations on these corridors would provide the most direct and effective relief.