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Shashi Tharoor to Air India after Gulf flight cut: ‘Disregard for Kerala’s interests'
Shashi Tharoor has written to Air India's MD over the reported curtailment of flights from gulf in the upcoming winter months.
Senior Congress leader and MP Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor expressed concern over the reported cancellation of Air India flights from Kerala over the next few months. He said that he reached out to Air India's Campbell Wilson over the reported withdrawal of flights from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur between late October and March.
“Kerala is one of the busiest aviation hubs in the country, with exceptionally high international passenger traffic, particularly to the Gulf region,” he wrote on X, adding that such steps would cause hardships to migrant workers, students, tourists and families, while also hampering trade and tourism.
“@airindia 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 further said.
Tharoor further wrote that he had earlier hailed Air India as his favourite airline. “But when facts change, opinions can change too. I hope all concerned will pay due attention,” he wrote, adding that people might shift their allegiance to other airlines such as Akasa Air and Indigo.
“@IndiGo6E and @AkasaAir are waiting in the wings and many of us will have no compunction about switching our allegiance to those who give us the attention we deserve," Tharoor wrote.
Air India Express recently announced to discontinue its flights to Kozhikode and Kannur from Kuwait in its upcoming winter schedule. The move has sparked concern among the Indian diaspora there who said the move will cause “severe hardship to thousands of passengers from the Malabar region".
The winter schedule for scheduled flights, which is yet to be officially announced by aviation regulator DGCA, starts from late October.
