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Vimala Vasan

Abu Dhabi , April 26

THE new budget airline Air India Express (AIE) is all set to launch its maiden flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi on April 29, but technical glitches continue to dog the efforts of passengers in the Emirate who have not yet been able to book tickets for the first return flight or subsequent flights of the airline.

The first flight is scheduled to arrive on April 29th morning, carrying a number of VIPs led by the Indian Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel.

Mr Bharat Chatruvedi, Manager, Air India, Abu Dhabi, told Business Line that AIE would operate five flights a week to Kozhikode, four weekly flights to Kochi and three to Thiruvananthapuram. The planned flights to Mumbai and New Delhi from Abu Dhabi have been put on hold pending clearance from the Muscat civil aviation authorities, as the flights were scheduled to be operated to Muscat also, he said.

Till May 21, the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai and Abu Dhabi-New Delhi flights will be operated under the regular Air India operations. AIE will also launch operations out of Dubai Airport's Terminal 2 on April 30 with daily flights to Kochi and Kozhikode.

The new airline will operate Airbus 737-800 series aircraft, which has a capacity for 180 passengers. A 30-kg baggage allowance limit has been finalised and some light refreshments will be served on board, the official said. He admitted that technical problems associated with appointing a GSA and agents in Abu Dhabi had led to the inability of passengers here to book tickets either online or through agents.

"There is a problem and I cannot say right now when we will be able to finalise and get the system up and running,'' Mr Chatruvedi said.

However, some passengers have been booking tickets from India through their credit cards, with payments made in Indian rupees, he added.

Travel agents told Business Line that they were receiving a flood of enquiries daily for the new airline, particularly to book for the busy peak summer season in June, July and August.

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