The CPI(M) staged marches to the Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumbassery and Karipur international airports to protest against Air India’s frequent cancellation of flights to Gulf destinations.
Inaugurating the march at the Nedumbassery airport, Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan came down heavily on Air India and blamed the State government for its failure to ensure that the flights, on which thousands of Malayalis depended, were not cancelled in such large numbers.
Strong agitation
A strong agitation would have to be built up to ensure that Air India responded positively to the travel needs of the people of Kerala, he said.
In Thiruvananthapuram, CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised Air India’s practice of jacking up its air fares to various Gulf destinations during peak season.
Very often, those travelling to and from the Gulf countries were forced to pay fares that exceeded the fares needed to travel to such destinations as London, New York and Paris.
The recent spree of cancellation of flights had come on top of this, Mr. Vijayan pointed out.
Mr. Vijayan said the situation was so bad that Malayalis were worried about their travel prospects if they booked their tickets with Air India. The worst hit by the flight cancellations was Thiruvananthapuram and there was need to fight such practices of Air India, Mr. Vijayan said.
Hundreds of CPI(M) workers and elected representatives belonging to the CPI(M) and various LDF constituents also participated in the marches.
