Passenger footfall in Trichy to take hit; fare rise on cards

Trichy: With four of eight destinations served by Trichy international airport in the conflict zone, flight cancellations are set to affect passenger footfall. Air travel agents said cancellations will have a cascading effect even after the airspace reopens. A spurt in airfares is likely due to travel demand to and from the Middle East during the ongoing Ramadan month. Trichy airport sources said two flights and four services to Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were cancelled on Sunday. With NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) notification continuing, at least two to four flights a day operated to the region from Trichy are likely to be cancelled in the next few days as well. "About 30% of international passenger footfall at the airport is expected to be impacted due to the tensions in the Middle East. Passengers are cautioned to check their flight status and start their journey to the airport," S S Raju, Trichy airport director, said.
At present, international flights to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Colombo, and Jaffna are operated from Trichy. Even a section of Colombo-bound passengers travelling to catch a connecting flight to Riyadh and Dammam cancelled their entire journeys. Air travel agents expect a spurt in demand for tickets from Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi to Trichy, with anxious expatriates and their families trying to return home. "Once the airspace opens and flights resume operations, airlines will give priority to accommodate passengers whose journeys were cancelled earlier. A rise in air ticket fares can be expected since seat availability will decrease," Jahir Hussain J, past president, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAF) TN chapter, said. Domestic passenger footfall is also expected to decrease, as they will use Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Mumbai to catch connecting flights to destinations not directly served by Trichy. "Demand for tickets from the UAE to Trichy will increase as workers start returning to their native places to spend holidays for Eid in the next two weeks. After Ramadan, tickets for outbound flights from Trichy to the UAE will increase, and so will the fare," A Nargis, a travel agent from Thennur, said.