Port Blair (Sri Vijaya Puram): With airfares soaring to staggering levels and flight services to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands shrinking drastically, the Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee (ANTCC) has called for a public dharna in front of the airport on September 3, demanding urgent intervention to end what it describes as a crippling connectivity crisis. The dharna will begin at 8.30 am, with the Congress appealing to the general public, trade bodies, business associations and stakeholders across the islands to join the protest.
Addressing a press conference, G Bhasker, Chairperson of the Campaign Committee of ANTCC, said ordinary islanders were being pushed to the wall by the combination of limited flights and unaffordable air tickets.
According to Bhasker, fares on the Chennai route have climbed to around ₹17,500, while tickets to Delhi have reportedly touched a staggering ₹35,000 to ₹45,000 in some cases. The simple question, he said, was: Why should islanders pay such a heavy price for a lifeline they cannot live without?
“When there is demand, there has to be supply,” Bhasker said, maintaining that the sharp reduction in flights had created a serious mismatch between passenger demand and available seats, sending airfares spiralling.
The fallout, Bhasker warned, is being felt across the islands.Tourism—the backbone of a large section of the local economy—is among the worst-hit. High ticket prices and inadequate flight availability are discouraging tourists, affecting hotels, taxi and auto-rickshaw operators, boat operators, airport transfer services, vendors and countless small businesses dependent on visitor arrivals. “The impact is not limited to airlines and passengers. The entire economy is affected,” he said. He also highlighted the plight of patients who depend on mainland hospitals for specialised treatment. Limited flight availability and soaring fares, he said, have added enormous financial pressure on families already battling medical emergencies.
Referring to recent cases involving seriously ill patients, including a heart patient and a paralysed patient, Bhasker pointed to the additional burden of arranging costly emergency air transportation. The Congress leader questioned why the islands should continue to suffer through months of reduced flight operations, particularly when there are no road or railway links connecting the archipelago with mainland India.
For the islands, air connectivity is not a luxury—it is a lifeline.
While ships provide an alternative mode of transport, Bhasker said the existing services were insufficient to meet the regular travel needs of the population. He also questioned the continued reduction in flights during June, July, August and September and asked why residents and businesses should bear the economic consequences while waiting for normal operations to resume. Bhasker claimed that the present flight operations were at one of their lowest levels, with only about three to five flights operating on certain days.
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In a bid to make the protest broader and non-partisan, Bhasker said the September 3 dharna should not be seen merely as a Congress programme. Although the Congress has taken the initiative to organise it, he said the party would not use its flags or banners at the protest following concerns expressed by some associations.
“This is not a political programme. This is a programme for the people of Andaman,” Bhasker said.
The ANTCC has issued invitations to various organisations, including the Chamber of Commerce, and appealed to the public, business bodies and civil society groups to join hands and raise a united voice. The September 3 protest is now set to test whether the mounting public anger over sky-high fares and shrinking flights can translate into a collective demand for reliable, affordable and year-round air connectivity for the islands.
