National Aviation Company of India Ltd. (NACIL) cancelled its flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Chennai, via Bangalore (IC 911); and to Maldives (IC 963/964) on Wednesday on account of a nation-wide flash strike by a section of employees.
The airline arranged accommodation in the city for those who had booked in flight to Maldives.
Maldivian airline, owned by Island Aviation Services, is scheduled to operate additional flights on Wednesday night to take the stranded passengers. An airline spokesman said an aircraft that can carry 50 passengers will arrive from Male at 9.30 p.m. and depart at 10 p.m.
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Airline sources said the IC 909 Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai-Bangalore flight was operated only up to Chennai. The departure of IC 466 to New Delhi was delayed by over an hour.
The New Delhi-bound IC 668 (from Thiruvananthapuram) in the evening was rerouted through Bangalore for the benefit of passengers who had booked tickets in the IC 911 and IC 909 flights (to Bangalore).
The Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry called upon the airline to solve the issue without causing hardships to tourists and other travellers.
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“The flash strike is causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers coming from the Gulf and other countries,” confederation president E.M. Najeeb and secretary M.R. Narayanan said in a statement here.