ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): As soon as Ramzan 2026 began, domestic and foreign airlines have increased their fares for pilgrims traveling for Umrah.
According to the reports, the fare for business class has reached Rs 0.5 million, while the fare for economy class and economy plus increased from Rs 180K to Rs 0.2 million.
As soon as the first ten days of Ramadan began, the number of Umrah pilgrims increased as usual, and taking advantage of this, all domestic and foreign airlines increased their fares.
Every year, the number of Umrah pilgrims significantly increases in the second and third Ashra compared to the first, which is why domestic and foreign airlines increase their fares due to the rush.
As usual, the fare for economy and economy plus was Rs130K to Rs140K, which increased to Rs180K to Rs200K, while the fare for business class was Rs450K, which has now reached Rs550K.
According to travel agent Muhammad Ayub, the increase in fares is due to the rush of Umrah pilgrims. Whenever a festival or season comes, the rush increases, and the airlines increase their fares.
All airlines are fully booked, and that is why the fares for the seats that are not being booked have been increased. He said that agents only charge what the airlines set for the fares.
A citizen, Aamir Imtiaz Bilal, who goes for Umrah, said that due to inflation, it is difficult to think about paying for religious obligations or not. According to travel agent Muhammad Ayub, ordinary people are now afraid to even think about Umrah.
