The proposed plan by Jet Airways to suspend seven daily flights from Coimbatore to Bengaluru and Chennai from July 1 has come as a blow to the international airport here.
The move is said to be part of the plan to shift services under “UDAN” (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), a regional connectivity scheme launched by the Centre.
This will hit connectivity from Coimbatore to the two metros and will have an impact on the passenger traffic at the airport.
The services to be suspended are four ATR 72-500 flights (roughly 70 seats each) operating to Chennai and three similar flights operating to Bengaluru. This will result in loss of close to 30,000 seats (two way) per month.
Fare hike likely
“It will lead to a big increase in airline fares between Coimbatore and Chennai. This is a blow to the growth of Coimbatore airport for no valid reason. It will also affect the ranking of the airport and its revenue as well,” said R. Raveendran of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore.
Mr. Raveendran said the suspension of services on two prime sectors would affect international passengers from Coimbatore who seek connecting flights from Chennai and Bengaluru airports from where direct flights are operating to Paris, Amsterdam, Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Airport director R. Mahalingam said that no official communication had been received from the operator regarding the suspension of the seven services to the two cities.
Vanitha Mohan, convenor of the Kongu Global Forum and president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, said the suspension of the services would be a big blow for regular travellers on the sector apart from the considerable impact it was expected to have on the industry here.
“Flights to Chennai and Bengaluru are operating in full capacity and even new services were started considering the load factor. Pulling out seven services all of a sudden is shocking,” said Ms. Mohan, and added that the forum would make a representation to Jet Airways in this regard.
The Jet Airways office in Coimbatore confirmed the cancellation of the seven services from July.
