ME conflict: airfares already hiked, but worse is yet to come?
ISLAMABAD: The ongoing Middle East conflict has driven airfares up by 30 to 70 percent due to a sharp rise in fuel prices and heightened security concerns. However, the aviation industry fears that the worst is yet to come if the conflict continues.
According to aviation industry sources, since the war began in the Middle East, airfares for two-way travel from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have increased from PKR 140,000-150,000 to PKR 250,000-280,000 in less than a month. It has also been noted that, due to the war zone, travel to Middle Eastern countries declined by more than 50 percent. “The holy month of Ramadan is peak season for travelling agencies, but this year, because of the ongoing Iran war, the business declined by over 50 percent compared to the same month last year,” Furqan Sheikh of Aroma Travels told Business Recorder.
He said that although Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates, Flydubai, and Air Arabia are operating flights from Pakistan, their occupancy rates remain below 50 percent. He added that many people are avoiding or delaying travel to Middle Eastern countries due to security concerns.
He said that air fares for European countries have also hiked by 40 percent. He said the return airfare for London, which used to be PKR 325,000, has now reached PKR 400,000. Whereas the airfare for North American countries like the United States and Canada increased from PKR 400,000 to PKR 450,000 by the Middle Eastern airlines like Emirates. The airfares of Turkish Airlines substantially increased to PKR 650,000 mainly because of its safer route to the North American countries.
The abrupt jump in fuel prices also increased the domestic fares by almost 50 percent, as the two-way fare for Islamabad-Karachi and Lahore-Karachi has been increased from PKR 60,000 to 90,000.
A spokesperson for PIA, Abdullah Hafeez Khan, said that because of exceptionally increased oil prices, PIA and other local airlines already imposed fuel charges of USD 20 per ticket on domestic flights, USD 50 on airfare to Middle Eastern countries, USD 75 on European flights, and USD 100 on Northern American countries.
The price of JP-1 fuel, which is used in commercial planes, was raised by PKR 84 per litre, or 21.65 per cent, to PKR 472 from PKR 388 per litre with effect from March 21. Since March 1, the price has surged by nearly 150 percent.
In its survey, Gallup Pakistan found that international departures fell from 1,127 flights between 1–10 February to 572 flights between 1–10 March — a decline of nearly 50 percent in just a few weeks.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026