AI Express resumes Tiruchi-Dubai service

Low-cost carrier Air India Express has resumed the Tiruchi-Dubai-Tiruchi service from Monday.

The resumption of the daily service should come as a relief for regular flyers, especially migrant workers from the central and southern districts.

The flights were suspended in May because of upgrade work taken up at the Dubai International Airport.

The airline has been operating flights on the Tiruchi-Sharjah sector since then. The clearance for the resumption of the flights had been received from the Dubai airport authorities, sources said.

Decision welcomed

The flights (AXB 612/611) from Dubai would arrive here at 1.40 p.m. and leave for Dubai at 2.45 p.m. The airline operates an all-economy 186-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the sector. Travel agents have welcomed the resumption of the flights.

A large number of migrant workers from the central and southern districts had been patronising the service and the withdrawal had caused inconvenience to them.

“We welcome the resumption of the Dubai service. At the same time, Air India Express should resume flights to Abu Dhabi from here.

Migrant workers

The Abu Dhabi service was popular among semi-skilled migrant workers from the southern districts, especially those working in oil companies in Abu Dhabi.

The withdrawal of the service has forced them to depend on services from Chennai or Thiruvananthapuram,” said M.S. Paramasivam, chairman, Travel Agents Association of India, South Tamil Nadu Chapter. The airline withdrew its twice-a-week service on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Abu Dhabi/Abu Dhabi-Tiruchi-Chennai sector in October 2012.

The service was one of the earliest operated by the national carrier from Tiruchi and had been commanding a good load factor of about 80 per cent.

The withdrawal of the Abu Dhabi service entailed cancellation of a couple of flights a week on Chennai-Tiruchi/Tiruchi-Chennai sector too. Currently, the airline connects Chennai with its Chennai-Tiruchi-Singapore flights. The airline had withdrawn the service citing poor load factor from Chennai, travel agents said and pointed out that the service on the Tiruchi- Abu Dhabi sector had been operating to very good load factor.

Flight to Kuala Lumpur

Meanwhile, Malindo Air will resume its night flights on Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector from Wednesday.

The flights (MXD 223/224) will arrive here at 11.05 p.m. and leave for Kuala Lumpur at 11.55 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

 Source