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Title: Need to introduce more Air India flights on Gulf route with a view to solve the problems being faced by passengers going to Gulf countries. – Laid.
SHRI VARKALA RADHAKRISHNAN (CHIRAYINKIL): There are still a number of problems being faced by gulf passengers connected with their Journey in Air India flights. The number of seats available has come down drastically by the introduction of Air India Express, leading to non-availability of tickets and thereby worsening travel hardships. The number of aircrafts now operating are also not sufficient when compared to the heavy traffic, especially during vacation/festival seasons. During this season the flights to Kerala will be overlooked. But Air India often delays or cancels these flights at the last minute citing technical problem. There are also complaints regarding the formalities for the booking of seats in the Air India Express, i.e online booking using credit cards, on the ground that a good majority of the passengers belong to the low income segments having no credit cards or internet facilities.
In order to solve the problems of the Gulf passengers with regard to their journey in Air India flights, Government of India and Air India may be requested to start more services in this sector.