Air France to withdraw its services to Chennai from March-end

Chennai: Though international passenger traffic is reviving after a slump caused by the impact of the ongoing economic slowdown, foreign airlines have now started to cut services to Chennai. Air France has intimated the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that it would be withdrawing its thrice a week service out of Chennai from March-end. Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines have already cut their day services from Chennai.
Air France's decision would be a blow to passengers, especially French nationals from Puducherry, as the airline offers direct flights to Paris. "The airline is mostly preferred by French nationals who have links with Puducherry. The airline did not have many bookings as the travel to Puducherry is seasonal," said an airport official.
"The move will affect people who travel to Paris from Chennai. They will now have to travel to Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Abu Dhabi or Colombo and take a flight to Paris. Not many people are travelling international these days when compared to previous years. Earlier, it was difficult to get a seat on any of the flights to Europe but now seats are full only during weekends," said D Sudhakara Reddy, president, Air Passengers Association of India.
06/02/09 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Feb 2009, Foreign Feb 2009