As per India’s ‘air bubble’ arrangements with Bahrain, Air India/ Air India Express and Gulf Air are permitted to transport people between the two countries, with certain restrictions. However, airfare to Bahrain is considerably steeper than that of flights to other Gulf nations. The average fare of the special flights from Kerala to Bahrain is between Rs 30,000 to Rs 39,000. Addressing this, on Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the reason for this price hike is that Bahrain only allows 750 passengers from India per week.
"Average fares on Kerala-Dubai flights are between Rs 6,500 and Rs 12,800 while Kerala-Doha flights cost between Rs 7,150 and Rs 15,50," the minister tweeted.
Earlier during the day, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan met Puri and told him about "the surge in the pricing of flight tickets" from GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries to India. Muraleedharan tweeted that he "sought his (Puri's) urgent attention to alleviate the financial and mental hardships faced by Keralite expatriates working in those countries".
Puri responded to Muraleedharan's tweets, saying, "Bahrain has placed a restriction of 750 passengers per week from India and fare band on Kerala-Bahrain sector is Rs 30,000 to 39,000 for Indian carriers." He added, "Average fare band for Indian carriers on Kerala-Dubai sector is Rs 6,500 to 12,800 & on Kerala-Doha sector it is Rs 7,150 to 15,500." Kerala is connected to UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar via the air bubble arrangement, Puri said.
Meanwhile the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) has announced its winter schedule of flights. This decision came after the union government's endorsement to airlines and airports to operate 60% domestic services was effective. The schedule which will be in effect till 27 March, 2021. CIAL is gearing up to facilitate 460 weekly operations as per the schedule, they announced on Friday.
Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, special international passenger flights have been operating since July through bilateral ‘air bubble’ arrangements between India and 18 other countries. Under an air bubble arrangement, the countries' airlines can operate special passenger flights between their territories with certain restrictions in place for passenger and crew safety.
With PTI Inputs