For over a week, the Srinagar–Jammu National Highway has been partially closed, leaving Kashmir cut off from the rest of the country. In such moments of hardship, one would expect the airlines to step in as a lifeline and prevent inconvenience to people who want to visit Kashmir or go out. Instead, the airlines have turned this closure into a feast, resembling vultures circling overhead. A Srinagar–Delhi ticket now costs an outrageous ₹13,000–₹15,000. Srinagar–Mumbai touches ₹17,000. These fares are not just high—they are extortionate and a shameless cash grab at the expense of desperate passengers. Airlines have defended this loot with the tired excuse of “demand and supply.” But when patients need urgent treatment, students have to reach colleges, and families are stranded, this is not the market at play—it is profiteering off misery. Air travel in Kashmir is not a luxury. It is a necessity every time the highway shuts. And airlines are treating this necessity as their golden goose. The bigger scandal is the complicity of silence. Where is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation? Where is the Ministry of Civil Aviation? Regulators have the authority to cap fares, to direct airlines to add flights, to safeguard consumers. Yet they look the other way while Kashmiris are bled dry. By doing nothing, the government is allowing airlines to turn every highway closure into a festival of loot. Enough is enough. The government must not just cap fares—it must punish airlines that exploit crises by imposing ceiling rates, ordering more flights and putting emergency travel categories in place. The government can even go further: levy heavy fines on airlines indulging in fare gouging, scrutinising their licenses and making it clear that profiteering from the helpless will not be tolerated. If telecom companies can be fined for dropping calls, surely airlines can be penalized for dropping all sense of ethics. Kashmir has endured isolation, violence and instability for decades. What it should not endure is daylight robbery every time the highway closes. Travel is not a privilege for the wealthy few—it is a right for every citizen. Airlines that cannot operate responsibly in times of crisis have no business operating in Kashmir’s skies at all. It is time for the government to act with an iron hand. It is time to cap the fares, fine the offenders and remind airlines that they are service providers, not predators. Anything less will be a betrayal of Kashmiris who are once again being forced to pay the price of neglect and greed.