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UAE-India travel: Increased seat availability after resumption of scheduled flights
Travel agents in the UAE are expecting a healthy return to business operations in the months to come
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India will allow the resumption of scheduled international flights from March 27, just over two years after being suspended in the wake of the pandemic.
The bubble arrangement enabling international flights during this period will lapse on March 26, the last day of the 2021-22 winter schedule, the director-general of civil aviation has said.
In a circular shared on social media, Neeraj Kumar, the director of regulations and information for the Director-General of Civil Aviation, said, “Resumption of commercial international passenger services would imply reversion to bilaterally agreed capacity entitlements and termination of air bubble arrangements.” All operations are subject to strict terms and conditions set by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The resumption of regular services would result in maximum frequency, increased seat availability and enhanced confidence to travel on the India-UAE-India civil aviation corridor, aviation experts, heads of airlines and travel agents have said.
PP Singh, regional manager of Gulf, Middle East and Africa of Air India, told Khaleej Times, said, “Resumption to normal traffic is an excellent development for regional and international airlines operating on the India- UAE sectors. Traffic should return to the pre-Covid-19 schedule.”
At present, airlines are submitting schedules for operations to respective civil aviation authorities every month, according to Singh. “We were taking monthly approvals. Now, we can go back to taking scheduled approvals twice a year. Moreover, from a passenger perspective, we believe people would now have renewed confidence to travel.”
Singh did, however, raise concerns over rising oil prices amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis. “Airlines are the first to take a beating during a war situation. As far as the DGCA decision is concerned, this is the only deterrent I see to returning to pre-pandemic demand.”
UAE-India enjoys excellent passenger traffic, which has grown yearly. According to various civil aviation experts, the passenger volume between India and UAE pre-pandemic was approximately 100,000 passengers per week.
Depending on the season, numbers stood at approximately 20,000 to 40,000 passengers per week during the pandemic.
Sharjah to India traffic improved considerably post-pandemic as well, said the expert.
A top civil aviation expert has said the passenger volume would witness healthy recovery post-March 27. “We are expecting families, tourists, and business travels to resume end of the month. There is a possibility for ‘revenge tourism’,” explained Singh.
Travel agents are also expecting a healthy return to business operations in the months to come.
Raheesh Babu, group chief operating officer of Musafir.com, an online travel agency, said, “As far as UAE is concerned, the benefits of resuming normal passenger flights also depend on the airline. Some airlines would get better slots, and some would return to lesser slots.”
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He added, “Customers would have the price benefit and travel confidence. The only thing left to do is remove the pre-travel RT-PCR requirement for India-bound vaccinated travellers.”
Sudheesh TP, general manager of Deira Tours and Travels, said, “This is a positive impact. The Government of India suspended international flight operations in India during the third week of March 2020. We had the Vande Bharat Mission, the air bubbles, and charter flight operations from no operations at all. Passengers suffered during this time.”
He added, “One of the key benefits of resuming international scheduled traffic is that transit passengers from other countries can now travel seamlessly through Gulf countries. They had to undergo additional PCR tests, book separate tickets, etc. However, that is not the case anymore. Transit passengers can travel more seamlessly.”
However, Afi Ahmed, managing director of Smart Travels, said, “Price variations are subject to seasonal demand. Moreover, if the pre-scheduled flights to certain cities were high pre-pandemic, they would remain the same way after March 27. The problem would be for smaller airports that enjoyed huge passenger traffic thanks to the air bubble agreement. The scheduled flights to those cities would witness a drop in number once the operations return to normal.”
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
Dhanusha Gokulan
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