Over 6,000 passengers were flown out of Srinagar on Saturday by commercial airlines and Indian Air Force after the Centre called off the Amarnath Yatra and asked pilgrims to return home citing security concerns.

As many as 6,126 passengers turned up at Srinagar International Airport, out of which 5,829 passengers travelled by 32 scheduled flights. The remaining 387 passengers were accommodated in four IAF aircraft, and were flown to various destination like Jammu, Pathankot and Hindon, according to a statement from Airports Authority of India.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has asked airlines to rein in the surge in airfares to help Amarnath pilgrims to return home.

Travel portal Yatra.com showed airfares in the range of ₹11,000 to ₹18,000 for a Srinagar-Delhi flight on August 4 due to the spike in demand.

“ Yatris will get special flights and controlled fares but what will happen to patients, students and other people who have to travel,” National Conference leader Omar Abdullah posted on Twitter, urging Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri to take steps to keep a check on airfares.

Earlier various airlines including Air India, IndiGo and Vistara announced that they were offering a full waiver on cancellation and rescheduling of flights from and to Srinagar following an advisory from the DGCA.