Big win for Indian expats in UAE as Air India Express reinstates Kerala flights in winter schedule

Dubai: Indian expats in the UAE have secured a major victory as Air India Express has reinstated several Kerala flights that were reportedly set to be cancelled during the winter schedule, following community groups' appeals to the central and state governments.

Gulf News had earlier reported on Indian Association Sharjah's appeal to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi after widespread concerns emerged about potential flight cancellations affecting the UAE-Kerala corridor.

Though Air India Express had not officially announced its winter schedule, widely circulated reports indicated the airline had planned to cancel a significant number of flights from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur airports to Gulf countries during the upcoming winter schedule, which runs from late October to March.

According to travel agencies, the major service disruption was expected on the UAE-Kerala route from Thiruvananthapuram, as the proposed winter schedule allegedly cancelled all flights from the state's capital to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

However, following sustained pressure from the expat community and Kerala MPs and media attention, the airline has reversed its decision.

Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament representing Thiruvananthapuram, who had taken up the issue earlier, announced the development on X:

"Delighted to learn from @AirIndiaX that their flight operations are picking up from/to Thiruvananthapuram. As promised to me in my meeting with them, they will be reinstating Dubai flights from 28th October and Abu Dhabi services from 3rd December."

The MP also noted that Air India will operate aircraft with business class configuration on the Thiruvananthapuram-Delhi route three times daily.

"Happy to receive this information before Deepawali," Tharoor said, wishing a Happy Deepawali or Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, to all air travellers in the state capital.

Travel agencies in the UAE confirmed receiving notification about the continued operations of some of the Kerala flights that were expected to be cancelled during the winter schedule.

Sudheesh TP, general manager of Deira Travel and Tourist Agency, told Gulf News: "The airline had said that they have compared the demand between the south and north Indian sectors and realigned their network as per the demand. Now, due to the pressure from the community and politicians and with the media highlighting it, the flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai have been reinstated and flights to Abu Dhabi will resume for winter holidays."

He said services were expected to be discontinued from October 28 on the Thiruvananthapuram–Dubai–Thiruvananthapuram route for the entire winter schedule.

"But we can see that Air India Express has reinstated that. Their sales team has confirmed that we can now accept bookings for the winter season starting from October 28."

He said the rescheduling has offered good news for passengers travelling between Abu Dhabi and Thiruvananthapuram during the festive season, though the services will be disrupted between October 28 and December 2.

Winter services resume from December 3 on this route with three weekly flights, paving the way for expats to travel home or bring their families over to the UAE during the winter vacation when major celebrations take place for Christmas and New Year.

Sudheesh clarified that the frequency of flights from the other three airports in Kerala have been reduced but not completely cancelled in the winter schedule.

"I am very happy to hear this," said Nissar Thalangara, president of Indian Association Sharjah, who raised the issue with PM Modi.

"It is a big win for us as we had taken this up issue with the central and state governments. Apart from the letter to the Prime Minister, we had written to the Civil Aviation Minister and MPs from Kerala," he told Gulf News on Friday.

"We are glad that the central government and Kerala MPs have understood our concerns and championed our cause. It is also a proof that the government has recognised the big role played by the NRIs (Non Resident Indians) in contributing to the financial security of the country," he added.