A Delhi to Leh flight ticket costs Rs 30k this February. What is happening in Ladakh?

For airfares from Delhi to Leh, you can travel to destinations like Bangkok in Thailand, Dubai in UAE and more. It's not because flying to the latter destinations is an affordable affair, it's because the former is beyond the reach of many. 

When a flight fare from Leh to Delhi is on average Rs 3,000, what would you estimate for a Delhi to Leh flight ticket? 

Almost the same? Wrong. Instead, the airfare from Delhi to Leh costs 10 times what it would cost you to fly from Leh to Delhi.

Check out the prices:

Here is Air India from Delhi to Leh:

Here's Air India Leh to Delhi flights: 

This is what Yatra shows for Delhi-Leh flights:

The average flight ticket from Delhi to Leh is about Rs 25,000... for one seat in Economy!

We will wait till you digest that.

On Twitter, people are furious over the exorbitant prices of flight tickets and are demanding the government and the Aviation ministry rein in the airlines. 

“Don’t take too much advantage, there is only one way to travel across #Ladakh by flight in winter season”
Airfare from #Jammu #Chandigarh #Delhi to #Leh is touching sky. Local residents of #Ladakhi must get some discounts. Appeal to @PMOIndia @rajnathsingh @jtnladakh @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/EXGj3uRpsM

— Tsering Gaphel ༅༎ཚིི་ཪིང་དགའ་འཕེལ།། (@Tsering_gaphel) February 12, 2023

Dilli Bahoot Door Hai!
For a whole week Del-Leh airfares r above Rs 33000 when all roads r blocked for 6 months.
Much cheaper to fly to London, than to Leh!!!
Imagine students, patients returning home!
Few additional flights shouldn't be hard!@JM_Scindia @AmitShah @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/h8KkVUZ2FC

— Sonam Wangchuk (@Wangchuk66) February 13, 2023

Ladakhis are suffering due to continuous cancellations of flights & skyrocketing air fare.

Just reminding Jenab @JM_Scindia who once said that Even a person who wears ‘hawai chappal’can travel by ‘hawai jahaz’ as spelt out under PM’s vision.

Where did the vision disappeared ? pic.twitter.com/LGFhHgLbtv

— Sajjad Kargili | سجاد کرگلی (@SajjadKargili_) February 12, 2023

Why are airfares to Leh so expensive? People on Twitter have accused airlines of taking advantage of the usual climatic situation of Ladakh during winter to "openly loot" flyers. 

• During the winter months, the major roads connecting Ladakh to the rest of the world, via the Srinagar-Leh route, are closed off due to heavy snowfall. 
• The only way to get to Ladakh during the months of December or January and February is to take a flight to Leh. 
• On Twitter, many pointed out how students and those belonging to poor or middle-income households can ever afford these fares. 
• Moreover, there are chances of the flights getting cancelled altogether due to weather-related concerns. In such a case, airlines aren't legally obligated to refund the money to the passengers. 

Numerous travellers have been stranded at the Delhi airport for the past three days. Very unprofessional conduct on Indigo's part. We went from DELHI to LEH twice in a row, but the flight changed when 6 other airlines landed but INDIGO.@IndiGo6E @PMOIndia @DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/InH3K1wuI1

— Ojas Apte (@ApteOjas) February 12, 2023

• In a recent case, an IndiGo flight to Leh from Delhi was delayed, then took off from Delhi airport, flew over Leh for some time, but didn't land there and returned to Delhi airport without landing in Leh. The reason cited was the weather.  

The nearest and most economically practical fare, according to Yatra.com, for Delhi to Leh is March 2, when one ticket costs around Rs 9,000. 

This is the calendar for February and the flight prices on Delhi-Leh route:

We spoke to Tarun Mehta, MD of a travel booking company, FlightShopee.com about why the costs are so high for Delhi-Leh flights and this is what he said: 

Mehta also explained that airlines may be banking on passengers booking return tickets to cover the cheap prices of Leh to Delhi flights. He also listed several other factors such as increasing fuel prices, and government tax surcharges resulting in the high costs.

ALSO SEE: Most Beautiful Train Journeys In India

ALSO SEE: 10 Places To Visit In Northeast India