Airfares are expected to reach their feverish peak by next month with overseas travellers waiting to reach home to celebrate Onam. However, there is no certainty even now that the expats could be able to reach home this time with affordable airfares despite the State government reaching out to the Centre seeking permission to press in charter flights to bring expats back to Kerala during Onam.
In Parliament, in response to a question, Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Civil Aviation General (Retd) V.K. Singh on Thursday said that in the recent past, the Centre has received references including from the Chief Minister of Kerala requesting necessary approvals for charter flights to be operated for transport of non-resident Keralites from Gulf countries to India. However, there are no specific requests for the operation of charter aircraft on the India-Gulf sector pending with this Ministry as of July 13, Mr. Singh said. He also added that charter flights are generally approved under the Inclusive Tour Package (ITP) guidelines.
However, a letter accessed by The Hindu revealed that Suman Billa, principal secretary, Industries and Norka department has written a letter to Union Ministry of Civil Aviation on July 3 requesting permission to operate chartered flights between UAE and India from August 15 to September 15, adhering to the stipulated CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) of 30 days under ITP (International Travel Permits) provisions.
Sources in the State government, however, said although the Centre provided approval for the operation of charter flights during the peak festival season, it is an arduous task for the State to execute it and challenges are many. First, though States operate chartered flights for repatriation or evacuation, no State in the country has ever operated charter flights to bring a festival crowd back to their home State in the country.
Second, the airlines of UAE and India are allowed to operate a total of 66,000 seats per week between Dubai and 15 Indian cities as per a bilateral air service agreement (ASA) signed between the UAE and India in January 2014. Further, despite the UAE requesting the Ministry of Civil Aviation to raise the number of seats for Dubai by another 50,000 last year considering the rush along the route, no major political decision was taken so far, raising the demand for seats during peak season.
Any decision on pressing charter flights between the two countries can be taken with the permission of both countries. Plus, if charter flights are operated, it will definitely have a big impact on the airlines operating from these countries in the sector. So only a high-level intervention could make it a reality. Sources in the Cochin International Airport, which is entrusted with the task of holding talks with airline operators, said the airport authorities have held a few rounds of talks with the airline companies and various stakeholders and the authorities are trying their level best to make it happen.
