Jet Airways Tiruchi-Abu Dhabi flight service launch put off

The much-awaited new flight service in the Tiruchi – Abu Dhabi sector by the Jet Airways from February 2 has failed to take off for now. The airline had proposed to operate a daily service to Abu Dhabi from here in the early hours by publicising the schedule in October last year.

The announcement of a new service to Abu Dhabi had gladdened travellers in this part of the region in view of the heavy demand for flight connectivity to more West Asian destinations from Tiruchi.

Online bookings had commenced the moment the airline publicly put out its schedule in the Tiruchi – Abu Dhabi – Tiruchi sector.

There was strong expectation that the introduction of the new service to another West Asian destination would further perk up overseas passenger and international freight movements from the fast growing Tiruchi airport. However, the airline has decided to defer the introduction of the new service for now.

Airport sources confirmed that the service had been put off for now. The airline had conveyed that the service had been deferred till further notice, the sources said. The communication regarding postponement of the new service came in mid-January. Those who had booked in advance would either be refunded or re-routed through Chennai airport, the sources further said.

As per the schedule, the airline had planned to operate a Boeing 737 type aircraft from Tiruchi at 4.05 a.m. upon arrival here from Abu Dhabi at 3.10 a.m.

The airline had announced introduction of daily service to Abu Dhabi from Tiruchi to capitalise on the strong traffic flow between Southern India and the Gulf and beyond.

Although Air India had operated flight service to Abu Dhabi from Tiruchi, the airline had withdrawn it in 2012.

Presently, Tiruchi international airport is directly connected to Dubai and Sharjah in West Asia where a sizeable workforce hailing from the central and southern regions are employed. The Air India Express operates daily service to Dubai and Sharjah presently.

In addition to these, daily flights were being operated to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colobo from Tiruchi. There has been a heavy demand from passengers and trade circles for operation of flight services to Kuwait and other West Asian destinations.