KOCHI: In A quiet move, India has opened commercial operations of national carrier Air India Express, allowing overseas passengers to travel to some of the Gulf countries and Singapore, provided they get the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) clearance and requisite permissions from the destination countries. An Air India Express flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Bahrain scheduled for departure on Monday at 1.00 pm has allowed Bahrain nationals and residents to book tickets.
“Only Bahraini nationals/citizens and valid resident permit (RP) holders are permitted to enter Bahrain. Passengers travelling from Thiruvananthapuram should cross-check with their respective sponsors to make sure their RP is valid,” said an official. “We have not made it official and want to check the response in a quiet manner,” said the official.
When contacted, an Air India Express spokesperson confirmed the development, but added that the travellers will have to get clearance from the MHA and also permission from the destination country before boarding the flights.
“It’s not an easy process. There is a lot of documentation involved,” he said, adding that about 20-25 passengers have booked tickets. The airfare for the Gulf sector is priced at `30,000 per ticket. “Some travellers have called us to say the ticket prices are on the higher side. But this is not a full-fledged operation and hence the higher price,” said the official, who did not wish to be named.
Another flight is scheduled for Tuesday to Singapore from Kochi airport. The passengers eligible to travel to Singapore are citizens of that country, permanent residents and long-term pass holders, according to an Air India Express message. “Kochi-Singapore bookings are open,” the spokesperson confirmed.
Official expects restrained resumption of flights
An Air India Express flight to Oman from Kochi, which airlifted 13 Omanis on Saturday was perhaps the first official international commercial flight from India after the country shut international air travel for passenger flights on March 22. The flight also had three medical professionals from Kerala.
“They had to resume duty in the Gulf country and we allowed them to book tickets,” an official said.
Kapil Kaul, CEO and director of aviation consultancy firm CAPA Advisory, said he expects a very “restrained resumption” of commercial flights by the Indian government by next week. He said the ongoing flights could be considered only as “repatriation flights and not scheduled international flights” as the government has not formally approved the resumption of flight operation.”
