Air Travel Crisis: Ramesh Chennithala Urges Centre's Intervention

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has demanded urgent intervention from the Centre to resolve the air travel crisis impacting Indian expatriates, particularly in the West Asian region. In a statement released Wednesday, Chennithala addressed the pressing issue in a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu.

Chennithala emphasized that immediate action is essential to alleviate the plight of Non-Resident Indians, including numerous Keralites, who are either stranded or disturbed by the disruption of flights to Gulf countries. The situation has worsened with restrictions imposed by Gulf nations on Indian airlines, particularly until May 31.

Pointing out operational hurdles due to airspace constraints in West Asia, he revealed that airlines like Air India and IndiGo have significantly reduced operations, leading to an escalation in ticket prices. Chennithala called upon the Centre and Civil Aviation Ministry to engage diplomatically with Gulf countries to restore services and regulate fares.