Soaring demand for flights from Najaf to Iran leads to surge in ticket prices

NAJAF, September 3 — Ticket prices for flights from Najaf Airport to Iran have reached $200 on the black market, while official tickets sold for $75 have run out due to the high influx of visitors who have completed religious ceremonies in the holy shrines.

Travelers looking to return from Najaf to cities like Mashhad and Tehran have expressed their frustration over the depletion of official airline tickets at authorized outlets, resulting in a threefold increase in black market prices.

Yasser Jasim, a traveler, stated:

“The government should intervene to provide tickets. I have been searching through airline companies at Najaf Airport for a whole week without success.”

Mohammed Hamed, an airport employee, explained:

“Despite the large number of visitors to the religious shrines, ticket prices have risen because travel agencies have reserved a large number of tickets to sell at inflated prices, taking advantage of the high demand.”

“The number of travelers arriving in Najaf city through its international airport from the 1st to the 15th of Safar reached approximately 117,087, distributed across 810 flights. On a single day, there were 147 flights arriving from different countries, marking the highest number since the beginning of the month of Muharram.”

“Extraordinary efforts are being made to ensure the success of the visit, with some airport departments operating for up to 12 continuous hours.”

“Controlling ticket prices is challenging because the operation of travel agencies falls under the responsibility of relevant security authorities, such as economic security.”