The decision by Air India Express to reduce the number of flights from airports in Kerala to the Gulf sector has come as a huge jolt to lakhs of Malayali expatriates who traditionally depended on the low-cost airline to fly home. The decision, likely to come into place from October 26, will also cause a spike in the flight rates along the sector, much to the dismay of ordinary fliers.
While Air India Express flights to Kerala’s Kozhikode and Kannur regions from Kuwait will be suspended, reports indicate that several services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi from Thiruvananthapuram have been cancelled. The number of services to Muscat from Thiruvananthapuram decreased from seven to four, while the number of services to Doha from the capital city has decreased from 3 to 2. Flights to Sharjah from Thiruvananthapuram came down from 7 to 5. The Bahrain service has also been cancelled.
From Kozhikode, there will only be 3 flights to Muscat, instead of the existing 7. The number of Kozhikode-Ras Al Khaima flights has come down from 7 to 4, while there will only be 6 flights to Sharjah from the existing 9. The number came down from 7 to 4 on the Abu Dhabi-Kozhikode sector, while there will only be 3 services to Dammam from Kozhikode.
The service from Kochi to Riyadh will reportedly be cancelled, while it is halved (from 4 to 2) on the Bahrain–Kochi sector. The services to Abu Dhabi from Kochi will be just 2 of 4, while there will only be 6 flights (from the existing 7) to Dubai. The Air India Express will continue its existing flight from Kochi to Salalah.
“I have written to @airindia MD Campbell Wilson to express my deep concern over reports of large-scale cancellations of @airindiaexpress services from Kerala’s airports in the forthcoming winter schedule. According to widely-circulated media accounts, a significant number of flights are being withdrawn from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur between late October and March,” Tharoor said in a post on X.
Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram constituency, said Kerala is one of the busiest aviation hubs in the country, with exceptionally high international passenger traffic, particularly to the Gulf region. Any curtailment of services at this stage will inevitably cause severe hardship to migrant workers, students, tourists and families, while also hampering trade and tourism, he said, asserting that Air India must stop treating Kerala as an afterthought. “… withdrawing business-class services on the longest single-sector flight in India (Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram) has already added insult to injury,” he added.
Air India has brought down services from Kannur to Dubai from 10 to 7, to Sharjah from 12 to 7, Dubai from 8 to 7, Muscat from 7 to 4, and Ras Al Khaima from 3 to 2. Though Air India Express is yet to clarify the reasons for the cancellation of services, it is said that the decision was aimed at increasing its services from Bengaluru and other cities.
In line with this, Air India Express announced it will launch services to three new routes. The airline will connect Kuwait, Jeddah, and Riyadh from Bengaluru, all operated three times weekly with Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft, according to reports.
