Mullappally Ramachandran, MP, has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore with revised timings Air India’s cancelled daily flight from Kozhikode to New Delhi.
In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, he said that the Air India authorities had attributed the cancellation of the flights AI 657 and AI 658 originating from Delhi via Mumbai and Coimbatore to Kozhikode and vice versa to the partial closure of the Calicut Airport for repair and re-carpeting of the runway. The cancellation of the only flight has caused inexplicable inconvenience to the frequent flyers like him and his Parliament colleagues from Malabar. Hundreds of passengers bound for various Gulf countries travelling via Mumbai have now to seek other options, he said.
Instead of rescheduling the flight, Air India has sought to withdraw this flight unilaterally without even seeking the suggestion of the MPs. There is absolutely no justification for such an arbitrary act on the part of Air India, he said.
Mr. Ramachandran alleged that the discriminatory attitude of Air India authorities in the past was one of the main reasons for the sad plight of the official airline. “Passengers like me are made to travel to Kochi to board the Air India flight to Delhi, causing loss of valuable time and money,” he said.
Referring to the state of affairs at the Calicut Airport, Mr. Ramachandran said that lack of proper planning and farsightedness had resulted in the closure of the airport for re-carpeting and repair of the runway. Lakhs of passengers now face difficulties because the Airports Authority of India failed to take alternative arrangements.
