Cost of Syria-to-Shanghai flights allegedly surges to S$1 million, usual flight price starts from S$550
On Saturday (28 Feb), airfare from Syria to Shanghai, China, reportedly surged to over RMB 5.55 million (S$1 million) on a flight booking platform.
This is believed to be caused by several Middle Eastern countries closing their airspace and airlines cancelling their flights to and from the area due to the United States (US) and Israel’s attack on Iran on the same day.
As a result, foreign nationals have reportedly fled to Syria’s Damascus International Airport seeking refuge.
According to ETtoday, a screenshot of the exorbitant flight cost quickly went viral on Weibo, sparking discussion.
Flights usually cost as low as S$550
A screenshot shared on Weibo shows that the over RMB 5.55 million airfare is for business/first-class seats on Emirates for a flight from Syria to Shanghai with a layover in Dubai.
Source: Weibo
Meanwhile, another screenshot indicates an economy flight ticket costing RMB 1.25 million (S$230,000) with layovers in Doha and Bangkok.
Source: Weibo
On the same day, some netizens also found an Emirates business class flight from Syria to Shanghai priced at over RMB 3.82 million (S$705,000), with the screenshot stating that economy flights were sold out.
Source: Daily Economic News
According to Daily Economic News, flights from Syria to Shanghai usually cost as little as less than RMB 3,000 (S$550) on Xiamen Airlines and around RMB 10,000 (S$1,800) on Emirates or Malaysia Airlines before the conflict.
High airfare may be price entry error
However, Daily Economic News also reported that a knowledgeable source explained that huge price surges are often due to price entry errors by the supplier’s back-end staff.
“If it were truly a high-priced ticket, the business would definitely be taken down as soon as possible to avoid affecting users and public opinion,” the source reportedly said.
At around 6.10pm on 28 Feb, a Daily Economic News reporter checked a ticketing platform and found that there were no more flights available from Damascus to Shanghai on that day.
Some flights were still available for 1 Mar and later, from regular flights costing just over RMB 10,000 (S$1,800) to options as expensive as RMB 70,000 (S$12,900).
However, 30 minutes later, the reporter found no more flights from Syria to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
Flights in Middle East cancelled following airstrikes
According to The Straits Times, flights across the Middle East were cancelled on 28 Feb as several countries closed their airspace following the attack.
Source: Dunya Eqtesad
Among these countries were Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.
For 12 hours, Syria closed part of its airspace in the south along the border with Israel, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Airlines such as Air France, Air India, Turkish Airlines, and Lufthansa also announced the widespread cancellation of their flights.
Besides Iran, Jordan and Kuwait have also reportedly shot down incoming missiles.
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Featured image adapted from Weibo and Dunya Eqtesad.
