Nishar Mohammed & Vikramaditya
Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug. 31: A protest has been announced outside the airport on September 3 at 8:30 am against the steep rise in airfares and reduction in flight availability to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The protest has been described as a public-benefit programme aimed at drawing attention to the difficulties being faced by Islanders, patients, tourists and businesses dependent on regular air connectivity.
Announcing the protest, Mr. TSG Bhasker, Chairman of the Campaign Committee, Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee (ANTCC), said participants would assemble outside the airport wearing black bands or badges and display enlarged copies of actual air tickets to highlight the prevailing high fares. He said the demonstration would be peaceful and silent and would not be aimed at disrupting passengers.
Mr. Bhasker said airfares had reached unaffordable levels, citing his recent journey from Chennai to the Islands for which he said he had paid around Rs. 17,500. He questioned how ordinary families could afford such fares, particularly when travelling for medical treatment or other urgent purposes.
He alleged that flight availability had also declined sharply despite continued demand from tourists and residents. According to him, during the tourism season, the number of flights expected on certain routes had been substantially reduced, with only four or five flights operating on some days. He argued that the imbalance between demand and supply was contributing to the sharp increase in airfares.
Mr. Bhasker said the consequences of reduced air connectivity were being felt far beyond passengers. He pointed to hotels, taxi and private vehicle operators, auto-rickshaw drivers, boat operators, restaurants, guides, vegetable and fish suppliers, delivery workers and other small businesses whose livelihoods depend directly or indirectly on tourism.
He said tourism should not be viewed as being limited to hotels, as it supports a large chain of economic activities across the Islands. According to him, when tourists stop arriving, the impact reaches transport operators, boat owners, drivers, workers, suppliers and other businesses. He warned that prolonged disruption could affect employment opportunities in the Islands.
He also claimed that reduced tourist movement was affecting e-commerce and delivery services, with businesses and delivery workers facing declining activity. He said the tourism sector was among the largest employment-generating sectors in the Islands and that the present situation could have a wider economic impact if it continued.
Comparing the connectivity situation with the mainland, Mr. Bhasker said mainland residents had access to railways and extensive road networks, whereas Islanders had no such alternatives and were largely dependent on air and sea transportation. He also expressed concern over the limited availability of passenger ships, particularly outside peak holiday periods.
Mr. Bhasker said the current situation was unprecedented in his experience and claimed that even during the COVID-19 period, flight operations had not fallen to the levels currently being witnessed. He referred to higher flight numbers during the first week of September last year and said the present reduction was causing serious difficulties for residents as well as the tourism industry.
He also highlighted the difficulties faced by patients who are required to travel to the mainland for specialised medical treatment. He said critically ill and stretcher-bound patients could face extremely high transportation costs and urged the Administration to consider financial assistance for such patients.
Mr. Bhasker suggested that the Administration explore mechanisms such as charter flights or fixed blocks of seats at fixed fares on airlines. He said the Administration could consider purchasing a certain number of seats from airlines in advance and making them available to Islanders at controlled fares.
Referring to his earlier tenure as president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Bhasker said efforts had previously been made to introduce charter flight arrangements, although the tender was eventually cancelled. He said the Islands needed a long-term mechanism to ensure affordable and reliable air connectivity rather than depending entirely on seasonal increases in flight operations.
Regarding the September 3 protest, Mr. Bhasker said the programme would be limited to around two hours and was intended as a “mark of protest” to demonstrate public dissatisfaction and put pressure on the authorities to address the issue. He said the protest would not necessarily be the final step and that further action could be considered if the situation remained unresolved.
He also urged the Chamber of Commerce and other major associations to take up the issue at the national level. He suggested that a delegation could travel to Delhi to meet the Union Civil Aviation Minister and other concerned authorities and seek a long-term solution so that a similar airfare crisis does not recur in the coming years.
Regarding the proposed September 3 protest, Bhasker clarified that although the programme was being organised on the initiative of the Congress party, it would not be held under the party’s banner or flags. He said various associations, including the Chamber of Commerce, had been invited to participate and stressed that the programme was intended to address a public issue rather than serve as a political event.
He expressed disappointment that several stakeholders affected by the crisis had not come forward strongly and appealed to transport operators, tourism businesses, associations and the general public to join the protest.
He urged Islanders to participate in the September 3 programme along with their families, stressing that the issue concerned not only tourists and tourism operators but every resident dependent on affordable and reliable connectivity between the Islands and the mainland.
