Mangalore, Aug 20: A few days after a delegation led by Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo and minister Roshan Baig met Union minister of state for civil aviation G M Siddeshwar, urging the resumption of direct flight services from Mangalore to Kuwait, it is said that Air India had come forward to resume the flight service from October.
While sources said that the official announcement regarding the Mangalore-Kuwait flight would be made in a few days, Mr Lobo said that he had received unofficial confirmation on the resumption of flight operations from Mangalore to Kuwait.
The delegation had also met chairman and managing director of Air India Rohit Nandan earlier this month in New Delhi to hold talks urging the same. Members of the delegation requested both the authorities to restart the suspended direct flights from Mangalore to Kuwait at the earliest.
Although the operations are likely to resume soon, sources in the civil aviation ministry said that the flight would operate thrice a week instead of a daily basis as earlier.
Following the end of lease of aircrafts for Air India Express in February this year, Air India suspended its direct flight operations from Mangalore to Kuwait citing lack of passengers.
Ever since, pressure has been building up from several NRI groups in Kuwait and local bodies urging the airline to resume its operations.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports have stated that the Mangalore-Kuwait flight service would resume in October this year, and instead of a direct flight, the airline might opt for a flight route from Mangalore to Kuwait via Bahrain.
Courtesy: Coastal Digest