The Civil Aviation Ministry has agreed to look into the jacking up of airfares in the domestic and international sectors to the four international airports of the State during festival seasons. Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola will convene a meeting of the representatives of the airlines to discuss the arbitrary increase in airfares during Onam, Christmas and Ramzan.
The decision of the ministry to intervene in the long-pending demand of the State was conveyed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan during the discussions he had with Mr. Kharola at Kerala House, Delhi, on Sunday.
The possibility of developing Kerala as a prime aviation hub was also discussed at the meet. A meeting of all stakeholders in the aviation sector will be called in the State capital by July end to discuss infrastructure improvement in international airports, Mr. Vijayan said.
The State’s demand for more flights to improve connectivity will be taken up at a meeting of empanelled airlines, Mr. Kharola told the Chief Minister. The ministry would intervene to operate more flights of the national carrier Air India and its budget airline, Air India Express, to Kerala.
Problems of flyers
At the meeting, the issues being faced by the airlines and the flyers in Thiruvananthapuram and Calicut international airports were discussed. The Chief Minster demanded steps to operate more flights from Kannur. “The flight operations from Kannur are not proportionate with the number of passengers,” Mr. Vijayan said.
The State has sought permission from the ministry to enable foreign carriers to fly to and from Kannur. Airlines have evinced interest in launching services from Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to Kannur and for which permission should be granted, Mr. Vijayan said.
The Chief Minister has also sought steps to reintroduce the Calicut-Hyderabad flight and to start a direct flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Japan.
The Chief Minister has welcomed the decision to commence ship service between Kochi and Maldives. He hailed the agreement reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday.