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India-UAE travel alert: Airline announces changes to flight timings; all passengers advised to reconfirm

Airlines across the world work on two schedules, and the summer leg begins on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Saturday of October

With airlines switching to their summer schedule on March 26 and an ongoing network alignment, passengers flying from various airports of the UAE on an Indian airline are being advised by travel agencies to reconfirm their flight departure timings.

“Several Air India and Air India Express flights departing from the UAE have had their timings affected,” said Noushad Hassan from Alhind travels. “These changes are effective on flights departing up to October. We have been sending alerts out to passengers via email and SMS.”

According to him, all travel agencies in the country have been alerted about this and the new flight timings have been updated on their portals.

“There is a regularisation process going on between Air India and Air India Express flights,” said Sudheesh, General Manager of Deira Travels. “Several flights to and from India have been cancelled or rescheduled. So it is of utmost importance that all passengers flying on the airline verify their flight timings.”

Last week, Khaleej Times had reported how a spokesperson for Air India confirmed that Air India and Air India Express were aligning their networks causing several Air India flights to Kozhikode, Indore and Goa to be cancelled and replaced with Air India Express flights. Additionally, several Air India Express flights to Bombay and Delhi are being replaced with Air India flights.

Sudheesh said in his opinion it would be wise for all passengers of all airlines to reconfirm their flight timings over the next few days as the schedule change sometimes brings minor alterations.

Airlines across the world work on two schedules according to International Air Transport Association (IATA). The summer schedule begins on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Saturday of October. In 2023, the schedule runs from March 26 to October 28. This is a time when slot requests of various airlines are granted or reallocated, sometimes leading to changes in flight timings and schedules.

In an alert sent out to travel agencies, Air India has requested them to “update contact details and all other relevant details in the correct format on each and every PNR in order to ensure the passenger receives all the crucial updates" related to their travel.

According to Noushad, passengers sometimes give inaccurate details leading them to miss important updates. “At times, the phone numbers have errors, or they give the numbers of their friends or other family members,” he said. “Sometimes, their email address is outdated, or they don’t check it. So, we advise passengers to give the most updated details so that in case of any changes they are aware of it.”

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