FLIGHT TO DUBAI: Departure time from city not passenger-friendly

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Even as there were moments of cheer in the respective sectors as Madhya Pradesh will get two flights to Dubai, the departure timing of the flight from the city has spoiled the party as it has disappointed tourists and travel agents. They want the timing to change

Air India Express, a subsidiary airline of Tata Group owned Air India, had made the announcement to roll-out the second direct flight from the city to Dubai on Wednesday.

While, TK Jose, MP Chapter chairman of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), expressed happiness over the announcement on Wednesday, on Thursday he said, “We are happy, but the departure timing of the flight from here is quite disappointing. It’s not good in terms of tourism as the flight will depart from the city at 1.20 am (IST) and reach Dubai at 2.55am (Dubai time). The check-in time in Dubai hotels is 2 hours. In such a situation, passengers will have to pay the full day’s fare to spend a few hours or spend the night and half a day waiting. I have taken up this issue with Air India Express authorities and requested them to set a passenger-friendly departure timing. The touch down time of the return flight from Dubai is excellent as it leaves Dubai in the.”

He said Air India Express is going to deploy a 182-seater Boeing-727 aircraft for the Indore-Dubai-Indore flight. The flight will not have business class… all seats will be of economy class and minimum onboard catering services would be offered.