Mangalore International Airport Users’ Forum staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Monday urging the government to introduce budget airlines between Mangalore and West Asian countries.
They took out a procession from Ambedkar Circle to the DC’s office and submitted memoranda to the DC A. B. Ibrahim and the director the airport J.T. Radhakrishna.
The forum’s other demands included cancelling airport users’ fee at MIA, a memorial for the Mangalore air crash victims at the crash site, an increase in luggage limit and proper handling of luggage, cordial treatment of passengers from the in-flight and ground staff of the Air India Express and full-fledged services at the existing Mangalore passport office.
According to the coordinator of the forum, Prabhakar Ambalthere, the fares from Mangalore to the West Asian countries was steep as there was no policy to restrict it.
“The average fare to Kozhikode, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram from the UAE countries is about 580 Dirhams (Approximately Rs. 9,600).
It is almost four times higher, up to 2,000 Dirhams (approximately Rs. 33,000) to Mangalore from the same countries. To make them uniform, an open policy has to be implemented at the earliest,” he said.
Chairman of the Karnataka NRI Forum M.R. Vasudevsaid that NRIs who arrived in Mangalore deserved all facilities like their counterparts in Kerala and other States. “When passengers in Kerala get tickets for cheaper price, passengers in Mangalore are forced to shell out extra money to travel the same distance from Mangalore. The government should set up a cell to monitor all such issues and find solutions,” he said.
Referring to the issue of luggages, Mr. Ambalthere said: “People working abroad are allowed to carry only 17 kg of luggage, whereas passengers are allowed to land with 30 kg of luggage in Kerala,” he said and urged the government to solve the anomalies.
NRI businessman Shekar Shetty said that though many NRIs contribute for the growth of the country by pumping in money the government was least bothered to address their demands.
