MoCA Monitoring West Asia Air Travel Situation

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday said it is closely monitoring the evolving situation in the West Asia region and its impact on air travel between India and countries in the region. It added that airlines are undertaking necessary operational adjustments in view of the prevailing conditions to ensure passenger safety and the orderly conduct of flight operations. Airfares are also being closely monitored to ensure that ticket prices remain reasonable and that there is no undue surge during this period.Flight operations by Indian carriers to and from Riyadh resumed from Thursday. On the first day of resumption, three services were operated – two to Mumbai by Air India and IndiGo, and one to Calicut by Air India Express — restoring important air connectivity between India and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Officials said between February 28 to March 11, a total of 1,50,457 air passengers travelled from the Gulf countries to India. Further, Indian carriers scheduled several inbound flights on Thursday from various cities in West Asia, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Jeddah, Muscat, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh and Sharjah, subject to operational feasibility and prevailing conditions.Air India (AI) said AI and Air India Express announced to operate a total of 58 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from West Asia on Thursday along with one non-scheduled round flight each to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia from Mumbai and Kozhikode, respectively. The two carriers also operated their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat with a total of 10 flights to and from Jeddah, and 8 scheduled flights to and from Muscat operated by Air India Express. Additionally, Air India operated one round-trip from Delhi and two round-trips from Mumbai to Jeddah while Air India Express did one round-trip each from Bengaluru and Kozhikode to Jeddah.In addition to the scheduled services, the group announced 40 non-scheduled flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, subject to availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time. These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities.In a travel advisory, IndiGo said it is coordinating closely with the relevant authorities to progressively restore its flight operations across the Middle East. On Thursday IndiGo announced plans to operate flights to 9 destinations across the Middle East, along with select routes to Europe.“The Ministry is maintaining close coordination with airlines and other concerned stakeholders to facilitate smooth passenger movement. Airfares are also being closely monitored to ensure that ticket prices remain reasonable and that there is no undue surge during this period. Passengers are advised to remain in contact with their respective airlines for the latest updates regarding flight schedules and travel arrangements. The Ministry will continue to review the situation and provide further updates as necessary,” MoCA said.



Source link