THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Government decision to allot the slots vacated by the grounded Jet Airways to other airlines has proved costly for Kerala as no major airlines have come forward to take up the slots vacated by the defunct airline.
If this was not enough, some of the other airlines which received the slots of Jet Airways from metro cities have withdrawn the aircraft from Kerala in order to cash in on the more economically viable routes from there, reports The New Indian Express.
According to sources, around four flights from Kochi to various destinations have been hit after airlines such as Indigo and Spicejet withdrew their aircrafts from here to deploy them on other more economically viable routes during peak times.
There were around 13 daily flights to various destinations including overseas destinations from Kochi for Jet Airways. None of the airlines, which were allotted the slots, have come forward to offer service on Jet Airways routes.
When Adoor Prakash, MP, pointed out in the Parliament, that various airlines were charging exorbitant rates on the Kerala-Gulf routes, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Sing Puri said that in the wake of drop in overseas services following the grounding of Jet Airways, the ministry has temporarily allocated those routes to other airlines even on international sectors including India – Gulf sector to facilitate the passenger movement.
