Meghna Samtani, a resident of Kolkata who works at a hotel in Vancouver, Canada, found herself caught in the chaos of widespread flight disruptions following the war in West Asia.

Meghna had come to Kolkata on vacation and travelled to Dubai with her mother on February 26. The plan was simple — her mother would return to Kolkata from Dubai, while Meghna would fly to Vancouver via Istanbul. However, after the war broke out in West Asia on February 28, everything changed.

“I was supposed to fly from Dubai on March 3. All flights were cancelled then,” Meghna said. Left stranded in Dubai, she had no option but to wait. Meanwhile, pressure from the Vancouver hotel where she works kept mounting. Eventually, she was told she had to report back to work by Sunday, March 15, or risk losing her job.

“Sitting in Dubai, I was desperately trying for tickets. I couldn't get any. The pressure was mounting,” she said.

Finally, on March 8, Meghna managed to secure seats on a SpiceJet Dubai–Mumbai flight. The tickets were far from affordable.

“A ticket that should have cost at most ₹40,000, I bought for ₹80,000. For my mother and me, that was ₹1.6 lakh. And that too only till Mumbai,” she said.

From Mumbai, they had to spend another ₹40,000 to reach Kolkata.

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Scarcity of tickets to Vancouver

Once Meghna reached Kolkata, another challenge remained: getting back to Vancouver. Her neighbour, Anil Punjabi, an official of the Travel Agent Federation of India, said tickets were almost impossible to find.

“Whether via Singapore, Bangkok or through Delhi and Mumbai, tickets to Vancouver were not available through any route. Even if available, they were at a huge cost,” he said. According to him, Singapore Airlines was charging nearly ₹4 lakh for a single ticket, while most available seats were business class, priced between ₹7–8 lakh.

Eventually, Meghna managed to leave for Vancouver on Friday night. She flew from Kolkata to Singapore on an Indigo flight, and from there boarded Philippine Airlines via Manila to Vancouver.

For this one-way journey alone, she had to pay another ₹2 lakh.

Airlines cite fuel costs and route changes

Airlines say rising operational costs are behind the soaring fares. According to industry sources, fuel prices have been rising, and due to the war in West Asia, many flights are forced to take longer detours, increasing fuel consumption and operational costs. As a result, airlines say they are compelled to raise ticket prices.

Indian airlines have also been appealing to the central government to reduce surcharges and taxes on aviation fuel. Requests have already been made to cut taxes imposed by both the central and various state governments. Meanwhile, Indigo has announced fare increases to offset fuel costs, introducing additional fuel charges starting Saturday.

Industry calls for government intervention

On Friday, aviation industry voices also called on the central government to intervene and ensure that private airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad reduce various charges, including landing and parking fees.

Indigo and Air India have also pointed out that Pakistan’s airspace has remained closed to Indian airlines, forcing longer routes and higher costs since Operation Sindoor.

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Following the outbreak of the West Asia conflict on February 28, Air India and Indigo together have already cancelled 64 per cent of their scheduled daily 1,230 flights to West Asia, Europe and America. Global aviation data suggests that around 50,000 flights worldwide have been cancelled since the war began.

Passengers worldwide struggling

Thousands of passengers like Meghna have been affected by the disruption. Indonesian traveller Kayra Gunwane had booked an Emirates flight from England to Jakarta for a vacation. After her flight was cancelled, she was unable to return home. Unlike Meghna, she could not afford to buy tickets at the sharply increased prices.

Data shows that Sydney–London flight fares have risen by about 80 per cent, while Singapore–London fares avoiding West Asia have nearly tripled. According to aviation experts, at least four crore passengers travel annually from Asia to Europe via the three major West Asian hubs — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. With the ongoing disruptions, millions of travellers are now facing severe difficulties.