E-Paper
Flights to Gulf from 4 airports in Kerala cancelled
Dozens of flights from Kerala to the Middle East were cancelled due to geopolitical tensions, leaving many travelers stranded at airports.
Dozens of flights scheduled to destinations in the Middle East (West Asia) such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Doha and Bahrain remained cancelled across the four international airports in Kerala on Sunday.
With a large expatriate population from the state residing and employed in the region, particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain, the four airports of Kerala collectively handle around 100 flights a day on average.
Authorities said dozens of flights have either been rescheduled or cancelled altogether due to the emerging geopolitical tensions in the Middle East (West Asia). The flight cancellations have been compounded by the grounding of all flights at Dubai airport.
Authorities at the Thiruvananthapuram airport said 37 flights were cancelled on Saturday and 26 of those on Sunday. At the Kannur airport, a mainstay hub for north Kerala fliers, six flights to various Gulf countries were cancelled.
Most flights to the Gulf from the Cochin International Airport on Sunday also remained cancelled. Flights of airlines including Air India, Qatar Airways, Air India Express and Emirates to hubs like Dubai, Muscat, Salalah and Doha were disrupted on Sunday. Hundreds of travellers heading to the Gulf for important job-related and personal emergencies remained in a state of limbo at the airports, unsure of what to do next. With their flights rescheduled for hours, many spent the night at airports and nearby hotels waiting for any information about their flights.
At the Calicut airport, another major hub for air travellers in north Kerala, the flights which were cancelled on Sunday include the Air India Express flight to Jeddah, Indigo flight to Abu Dhabi, Emirates flight to Dubai, FlyDubai to Dubai and Air India Express flights to Dammam and Sharjah.
Airport authorities have asked travellers heading to the Gulf to check the status of their flights before leaving home.
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