https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/air-india-express-suspends-sharjah-flights/article26189321.ece
The Hindu Tiruchi 6.2.2019
TAMIL NADU
Air India Express suspends Sharjah flights
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
TIRUCHI, FEBRUARY 06, 2019 00:00 IST
UPDATED: FEBRUARY 06, 2019 05:03 IST
To and fro Tiruchi for two days a week
Overseas passenger traffic is likely to take a hit at the international airport here as Air India Express has announced suspension of its service on the Tiruchi-Sharjah-Tiruchi sector for two days in a week with effect from February 17 to March 31.
The airline has formally communicated its decision to the Tiruchi airport authorities with travel industry circles also in the know-how of the latest development.
The move comes at a time when there has been persistent demand from travellers for introduction of direct flight services to key Middle-East destinations in view of the large workforce hailing from this part of the region employed in the Gulf region.
Air India Express launched daily services to Sharjah from Tiruchi in September 2016 taking into account the potential for new services amid travellers’ demands.
Airline sources say the Sharjah- Tiruchi flights will not be operated on Mondays and Saturdays from February 16 to March 30. The Tiruchi - Sharjah flights will not be operated on Tuesdays and Sundays from February 17 to March 31.
The sources attribute the suspension to “operational reason”, exuding hope that it will resume during the summer schedule starting April. The daily single service in the sector has a fairly good patronage with a Boeing-737 being operated by the airline on the route, they say.
Suspension of service for two days from here comes at a time when there has been a decline in international passenger movement at Tiruchi airport during April-December 2018 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
Airports Authority of India statistics reveal that the airport handled 10,40,072 international passengers during April-December 2017, while it was 9,16,462 during April -December 2019 with the difference being over 1.23 lakh travellers.
The Tiruchi airport presently has direct connectivity to Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Sharjah operated by different international airlines.
A senior representative of the tourism industry here feels that though a temporary phenomenon, the suspension of service to Sharjah for two days in a week up to March 31 will definitely impact international passenger traffic at the airport at a time when the current fiscal comes to a close next month.
The fear among travellers is that the airline should not make it a permanent one.
“The daily service was serving passengers going from here and the suspension of flights for two days in a week will now force them to travel to Chennai or other nearby airport to travel to Sharjah,” said M.A. Aleem, Member, Airports Advisory Committee, Tiruchi.
The airline can offset the stoppage by operating a new service either to Kuwait or Doha or Muscat from Tiruchi as there is heavy demand from passengers from this part of the region, said the tourism industry representative.
Given the large number of workforce from this part of the region working in the Middle-East, there is definite need for new connections to places including Kuwait just when Tiruchi airport is on an expansion mode, says Dr. Aleem.
Airline sources here say their higher ups have been briefed about the high demand for a new service to Kuwait and Abu Dhabi from the city.
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