By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian community in Ras Al Khaimah has asked the Indian government to increase the number of flights between the emirate and India to cut down on travel time.
“There is only one flight operating from the Ras Al Khaimah airport to India. Around 450,000 Indians reside in the catchment area of Ras Al Khaimah, who have no choice but to travel to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah airports,” S.A Saleem, president of the Indian Association in Ras Al Khaimah said in an e-mail to IANS Friday.
Eight major Indian associations representing the Indian community have appealed to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and the union Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi to commence direct Air India services between Ras Al Khaimah and Indian cities such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai.
Alternately, the Indian government should allow the Ras Al Khaimah national carrier, RAK Airways, to operate flights to these cities, the associations said.
“The Ras Al Khaimah Airport and the Ras Al Khaimah civil aviation authorities are both on record welcoming Indian carriers to operate from this airport. However it appears that the return gesture from the carriers in India is not forthcoming,” said Saleem.
“If no favourable actions are taken in this regard with immediate effect, the various associations will encourage the community to even go to the extent of boycotting Air India during the upcoming holiday season,” he added.