DUBAI, July 22: National airline Air India has cancelled several key flights scheduled to fly during the Eid holidays, which is one of the most profitable seasons for any carrier.
Passengers, who had booked their tickets to fly between August 16 and 22, are being informed that their flights have been cancelled and they need to make alternate arrangements, a move that would help other airlines.
The airline had not given any reason for why it was cancelling the flights except that passengers were being informed well in advance and that they should look for alternate flights.
Following the cancellations, affected passengers would now have to pay more than 150 per cent to book flights on private airlines for the same dates. Most flights are fully booked for Eid holidays.
The Air India has advised passengers to approach the travel agent which handles the bookings in Dubai for cancellations. There were huge queues at counters inconveniencing passengers. “They should close this airline as these cancellations are costing us jobs and money,” a passenger said.
The Air India is losing Rs 15 crore a day, according to published reports.
“Tickets are at its peak. A one way ticket to Calicut is now costing me 2,000 plus dirhams. I had initially booked the Air India ticket for 1,000 dirhams,” media reports here quoted passengers as saying.
Yesterday Yusuf Ali, an NRI on the board of Air India quit saying he could not do anything in the last two years to help the gulf passengers who constituted the mainstay of the airline.
(UNI)
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