Kochi-London flight likely to restart, says CIAL after talks with Air India

Kochi: Air India’s Kochi-London flight, the lone direct service to Europe, is likely to restart operations in a few months, the Cochin International Airport Ltd said on Wednesday. The statement came after CIAL officials held a discussion with the airline company over its decision to discontinue the service.

Air India had recently announced that it would stop the service from London Gatwick to Kochi from March 28. The service is now conducted every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  

CIAL Managing Director S Suhas, IAS, met the Air India officials at their headquarters in Gurgaon on Wednesday as per the instruction from the Kerala government. Air India group head P Balaji and CIAL airport director Manu G attended the talks. CIAL presented a package aimed at making London's service profitable.

“During the discussions, CIAL emphasised the strategic importance of the route for Kerala’s connectivity with the UK and proposed a structured incentive scheme to support operations until they achieve commercial stability. In response, Air India assured CIAL that it would reconsider the decision over the course of the next few months, following the summer schedule, once Air India evaluates CIAL’s commercial proposal," a statement issued by CIAL said.

"Both parties remain committed to working towards a sustainable solution that aligns with passenger demand and enhances international connectivity from Cochin. Further deliberations will take place to assess the feasibility of reinstating the service in the near future. Air India also assured that they are evaluating enhancing overall connectivity from Kochi in the future, subject to aircraft availability,” the statement said.