Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Dec 1: The representatives of Tulu Koota Kuwait, Buntara Sangha Kuwait, Kuwait Kerala Muslim Association, and GSB Sabha, Kuwait on Friday December 1 submitted memorandums to MP Nalin Kumar Kateel at Circuit House here, urging rescheduling of flight timings between Mangaluru and Kuwait.
Currently, Air India Express departs to Kuwait from Mangaluru three days a week at 7 am. To catch this flight passengers from Udupi, Bhatkal, Kasargod and other far-off places need to leave their homes at midnight, which is difficult for families, especially for children and the elderly, the delegation said. "The present schedule forces passengers to undertake long-distance travel during the night," they said.
The delegation also pointed out that departure time from Kuwait is also inconvenient. "The flight to Mangaluru departs from Kuwait at noon and lands here in the evening. This causes a day's loss to passengers landing here, and they are again compelled to travel during the night to reach their hometowns," the delegation said.
The delegation also suggested that a convenient schedule would be if the departure from Kuwait was fixed at 10 pm local time, and that from Mangaluru at 7 pm local time. Introduction of an additional flight on Thursdays or rescheduling the Friday flight to Thursday was also suggested.
"Before the renovation of Mangaluru airport, Air India Express' schedules were convenient to passengers. But in the name of renovation, the schedule was changed, but after the completion of the work, the authorities showed no interest in rescheduling the flights to original timings," the Kuwait-based associations said.
Nalin Kumar Kateel accepted the memorandums and gave assurance that he would look into this matter seriously and pressure the authorities to reschedule the timings. "During the upcoming winter session of the Parliament I will meet the officials of Air India Express in New Delhi and seek a solution to this matter without fail," he said.
Manjeshwar Mohandas Kamath, Rajesh Shetty Agari and Roopa R Shetty were among the delegation.