Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has received an overwhelming response from flight operators to increase the number of flights on busy routes, including to the Lakshadweep Islands and Gulf destinations. There would be more services to Gulf cities, as well as doubling of flights to Agati in the Lakshadweep, said a communication from CIAL here on Sunday.
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Lately, The Lakshadweep islands have received great tourism attention. There are commercial flight services to the islands only from Kochi airport. The flights are operated - seven in a week, by Alliance Air. There will be two more flights operated by Alliance Air soon. Besides, Indigo has expressed its willingness to operate on the route from April this year.
“There are 97 flights to Bengaluru from Kochi every week. Indigo and Air India Express and Akash Air will operate a total of 14 more services a week on the route,” said the CIAL communication. There would be an average of 16 flights to Benglaru in a week. The increase in the number of services would bring down the cost of air tickets, the sources added.
There are 54 services a week to Hyderabad, 77 to Delhi and 80 to Mumbai per week. Air India Express would increase the number of services to Hyderabad and Air India to Mumbai and Delhi. Alliance Air would launch its regional services to Kannur, Thiruppathi and Mysore soon, the communication added.
There are a total of 114 air services to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Etihad and Air Arabia have promised to launch more services soon.The total number of flights from CIAL would go up to 185 a day by March. CIAL saw a total passenger movement of one crore in 2023. The airport authority expects 17 percent increase in passenger traffic in 2024.