Bhopal, May 23 (IANS) Raising concern over soaring airfares between India and Gulf countries, Rajya Sabha Congress MP Vivek Tankha has appealed to the Centre to step in with immediate corrective measures, saying the sharp increase in air ticket prices was severely affecting lakhs of Indian families dependent on annual travel to their hometowns.

In a letter addressed to the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Friday, Tankha sought government intervention to regulate fares on India-UAE and other Gulf routes during the peak summer travel season.

The senior Congress leader said that Indian expatriates working in Gulf countries, most of whom belong to middle and lower-middle income groups, were struggling to afford travel despite receiving annual travel allowances from employers.

“Over one crore Indians live and work across the Gulf region. The vast majority of them are middle-class workers whose livelihoods sustain millions of families back home in India,” Tankha said, underlining the economic contribution of the Indian diaspora in Gulf nations.

He added that the annual summer visit to India was often the only opportunity for migrant workers to reunite with their families.

“For most of them, the annual summer visit is the one window in the year to join their families. It is not a luxury but a necessity,” he said.

According to Tankha, airfare prices on India-Gulf sectors have risen to such an extent that employer-provided Fixed Travel Allowances (FTA), usually around AED 1,000, no longer cover even half the ticket cost.

He warned that the situation was forcing many families to postpone or cancel travel plans altogether.

Calling the issue a matter of public interest, Tankha urged the Civil Aviation Ministry to review airfare structures and explore temporary subsidisation between June and August.

He also suggested increasing the frequency of budget airline services on Gulf routes to provide immediate relief to passengers.

“The human cost of prolonged separation, of children growing up without a parent present and the quiet toll it takes, is equally significant,” he added.

–IANS

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