By NNN-PTI
Dubai : Despite a nationwide strike by airport employees in India which began Wednesday, airlines in the UAE said they will operate flights to the country as usual.
“We have checked with all the Indian airport authorities and they have given us the assurance that there will be only minimum disruption,” said Jayshree Ramchandran, marketing manager Air India.
Air India operates 7 flights to Mumbai, 7 to Delhi and 5 to Kerala weekly. “We operate 58 Air India express flights from Dubai and 18 flights from Sharjah,” she said.
“The strike is called by the non-executive members of the Airports Authority. It will not affect Air Traffic Control,” regional manager of Indian, Abhay Pathak said, adding that the airline will operate as usual.
Indian operates 104 flights out of UAE to 16 destinations in India.
“Emirates flights to India will continue to operate as per schedule,” a spokesman for Dubai-based Emirates airline said Tuesday.
“We have been informed that airport authorities and private ground handling agencies will deploy additional staff, if necessary, to compensate for those going on strike,” the statement said.
Emirates operates 99 flights weekly to nine Indian gateways including 28 to Mumbai, 14 to Chennai, 11 to Hyderabad, 10 to Kochi, 8 each to Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore, 7 each to New Delhi and Kolkata, and 6 to Ahmedabad with a load factor of over 80 per cent.
Etihad Airways said it is aware of the strike at airports across India. The airline flies to four destinations in India: Delhi, Mumbai, and Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
Cathay Pacific, which carries passengers from the UAE to Mumbai, might not be affected as well.