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Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi , Sept. 9

IT'S business as usual for international airlines flying from India to the US on the second anniversary of the September 11 events, which affected the global aviation industry.

There was unanimity among officials of leading major international airlines operating from India to Europe and onwards to the US that there was no "unusual passenger movement" or "request for change in flight schedules" on flights operating on or close to September 11.

"The demand for passenger seats in the week of September 11 is almost as high as in the previous week and probably much more than what it was last year during the same period. There has been no drop in demand," a senior official of a leading European airline having daily services to Delhi and Mumbai said.

Similarly, the spokesman of another leading international airline said that while the aircraft was full on the flight to the airlines' European destinations from India, the passenger loads to various destinations in the US varied. "On an average, the passenger loads on flights from Europe to the US is in the region of 70-80 per cent which is considered more than normal for this time of the year," the spokesman said.

The incidents of September 11, 2001, in the US when two aircraft were crashed into the World Trade towers in New York affected global aviation and led to a drop in demand for air travel across the world. India, too, was affected by the developments with several international airlines, including United Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) withdrawing operations from India as a fall-out of the incident.

The Chairman of the STIC Group of Companies, Mr Subash Goyal, said Indian passengers were taking the second anniversary of September 11 in their stride. "Everything is normal. Flights are booked. In fact, the situation is such that if an additional 100 air seats to the West are put in the market right now for the week of September 11, they will also get sold out immediately," Mr Goyal said.

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Business as usual for flights to US on 9/11 anniversary

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