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Demand to cut down AI, IA fares to Kerala

DUBAI - The All India Airport Users' Forum (AIAUF) has demanded that Air India and Indian Airlines should immediately slash their airfares on the Kerala-Gulf sector by implementing the economic airfare system.

The Indian national carriers had recently decided to do away with the on-flight food in order to slash the airfare and introduce an economic fare. However, the authorities dropped the plan last week.

M.K. Madhavan, president of the AIAUF, said the forum would call a meeting of all the expatriate organisations at the Indian Association Sharjah premises very soon to discuss the course of action in this regard.

"We want the support of all organisations because this issue covers all the expatriates. It would have been a blessing for the thousands of NRIs if the airfare had been reduced by doing away with the on-flight food. However, due to pressure from some quarters, the decision was dropped," he said.

K.M. Basheer, General Secretary of the AIAUF, said Indian Airlines and Air India charge relatively exorbitant fares on the Kerala-Gulf sector.

He said the national carriers were becoming highly unaffordable to the poor passengers in the Gulf sector who were working for meagre salaries. "Most of them go to India after long gaps of three to five years and much of it can be blamed on high air fares," said Mr Basheer.

"We will organise vehicle processions across the length and breadth of Kerala to create awareness among the people on this issue," Thilakan Pullani, vice-president of the AIAUF, said.

The AIAUF had organised a picketing protest at the Cochin Airport in Nedumbassery in October this year seeking the abolition of the user's fee being charged from Gulf-bound passengers at the airport.

"We will also stick posters to create public opinion about the issue of air fare and abolition of user's fee at Cochin airport," said Mr Pullani.