THIRUVANANTHAPURAM — Passengers from Kerala to Middle East destinations are going through a harrowing time with Air India canceling many of its flights since last week. Passengers created unruly scenes at the airport here when a Sharjah-bound flight was canceled at the last minute. Though the reason for cancelation was cited as “technical,” the flight was learnt to have been diverted for Haj operations to other states. Airport sources said though many flights would have to be diverted for Haj pilgrimage, only the Air India management was to be blamed for last-minute cancelations as the Haj operations are all pre-planned. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala protested the frequent cancelations and charged the airlines with levying “exorbitant fares” from Gulf-bound passengers. They wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene in the matter and prevail upon the authorities concerned to make alternative arrangements. Chandy, in a statement, said he had brought the matter to the prime minister's notice at the recent ‘Emerging Kerala' event in Kochi. Chennithala sent a letter to Singh, seeking his immediate intervention to find a solution to the problem. Shashi Tharoor, representing the capital in the Lok Sabha, also criticized Air India, saying, “The goodwill of the national carrier is at stake” by ignoring the plight of passengers, some of whom faced the prospect of losing jobs. Travel agents say it is incomprehensible why Air India cancels flights in busy and profit-making sectors like the Kerala-Gulf region, leaving out lean sectors. Most flights canceled are Air India Express flights, 90 percent of which were being operated from Kerala. Air India had canceled 168 flights from three international airports in Kerala — Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode — to Gulf destinations from Sept. 17, Kerala State Travel Agents Association president K.V. Muraleedharan said. Scores of passengers, including those who had to report for duty and join new postings in time, are now running from pillar to post to find other flights. Seizing on the chance, private airlines have begun increasing fares to the Gulf steeply, he said. — Agencies
