KOCHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has shot off a letter to Air India MD Campbell Wilson, expressing displeasure over the reported large-scale cancellations of Air India Express (AIE) services from Kerala airports in the forthcoming winter schedule.
The move is in the wake of reports of a significant number of AIE flights being withdrawn from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur in the winter schedule, which will be effective from October 26, 2025 till March 28, 2026.
“Kerala is one of the busiest aviation hubs in the country, with exceptionally high international passenger traffic, particularly to the Gulf region. Any curtailment of services at this stage will inevitably cause severe hardship 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,” the MP wrote on social media platform X.
“If @airIndia continues its disregard for Kerala’s interests, @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. I had publicly hailed @airindia as my favourite airline. But when facts change, opinions can change too. I hope all concerned will pay due attention. @TataCompanies,” he wrote.