BENGALURU: A day after Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda highlighted that flight rates between Mangaluru and Bengaluru were hiked, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Friday said airlines have been advised to cap the airfare on flights operating to and from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Coimbatore and Mangaluru. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is constantly monitoring airfares on 32 direct routes serving these destinations, a statement from the ministry said.
In addition, domestic airlines have also been asked by the Ministry to add additional flights to compensate for the closure of the Kochi Airport. “Airlines have been requested to cap the maximum fare to around Rs 10,000 on longer routes and around Rs 8,000 on shorter routes to and from Kerala and nearby airports,” the statement said.
Responding to the call for additional flights, private operator Jet Airways and national carrier Air India and Air India Express announced immediately that they will operate additional domestic flights to Thiruvananthapuram. Jet Airways, in a statement, said additional flights from Benagluru and Mumbai will be operated from Sunday.
For guests with confirmed tickets in and out of Kochi till August 26, Jet Airways has waived of the date/flight change charges up to 10 calendar days from the original travel date or for choosing an alternative destination near to Kochi Airport, the statement said.
Air India and Air India Express also said that it will operate flights scheduled to depart from the Kochi Airport, from Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode instead. These will include flights operated by Air India to Dubai, New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
While Air India will revise its schedule again on August 20, the low-cost carrier Air India Express is expected to stick to the new schedule till August 26, when the Kochi Airport is expected to be ready for operations. AI Express also announced that all penalties and extra charges for modification, cancellations and changes to flights will be waived of for flights to and from Kerala airports till August 26.