Akasa Air announced on Tuesday, February 13, the decision to halt operations of four flights to and from Mumbai airport, following the central government’s instructions. The government has instructed Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to reduce runway congestion.
The airline will cancel four flights: QP 1374 and QP 1367, which fly from Mumbai to Bengaluru, and QP 1362 and QP 1366, which run between Bengaluru and Mumbai. These flights will remain cancelled between February 15 and March 30, 2024.
Akasa Air is providing the affected passengers with the option to either rebook or get a full refund for their tickets as compensation. The passengers who choose the former option can rebook their tickets for any date until April 15, 2024.
An Akasa Air spokesperson told CNBC-TV18, “Flight operations of airlines to/from Mumbai are expected to be impacted with guidelines being implemented to reduce runway congestion at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. Considering this impact, we have to rationalise our network resulting in the cancellation of flights QP 1374 (Mumbai to Bengaluru) & QP 1362 (Bengaluru to Mumbai) between 15th February to 30th March 2024."
"We are proactively communicating to impacted passengers giving them options to either rebook at no additional fee or process a full refund. Passengers can rebook on any date until 15th April 2024. Our Akasa Care Agents are proactively assisting passengers to minimise inconvenience and our Airport Services team is also geared to assist passengers on the ground as required,” the spokesperson added.
The government's decision to reduce runway congestion is expected to impact around 40 flights and hamper the operations of India's top business houses' private jets.
The airport has also been directed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to decrease aircraft movement from 46 to 44 and from 44 to 42 during peak and non-peak hours, respectively. (Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First Published: Feb 13, 2024 8:13 PM IST
