FlyDubai says Indian 'issues' can be resolved

Jul 05, 2009 at 17:10

Airline confident of resolving 'any issues' after report it has been refused Chandigarh landing permission.

Budget carrier FlyDubai on Sunday stressed it is confident of resolving “any issues” with its planned flights to the north Indian city of Chandigarh after a report it has been refused permission for night landings threw the future of the route into question.

Local daily the Times of India had reported on Sunday the Indian Air Force has rejected an appeal by the fledgling airline to wave restrictions on landing at night.

The Chandigarh airport in Punjab is controlled by the air force, which does not allow civilian planes to operate there after 10 p.m., according to the paper, with the FlyDubai flight scheduled to arrive at 11 p.m. and return to Dubai 40 minutes later.

The Times of India also reported the immigration department is facing a “staff crunch” and will not be able to supply the staff needed to man passport control and customs.

“FlyDubai has been granted the rights to fly to Chandigarh based on the agreement between the governments of India and the UAE. The final few pieces of the operation are being worked out now and we do not anticipate any issues that cannot be resolved,” Ghaith al-Ghaith, CEO of FlyDubai, said in an emailed statement.

“We’re the first international carrier to fly to Chandigarh, so that means there is a little more coordination needed.”

FlyDubai was scheduled to begin flights to Chandigarh on July 23 to service the large number of expatriates from Punjab working in the UAE.

The problem “could affect the much-hyped service that has generated a lot of excitement in the region”, the Times of India said.

The Chandigarh route is one of three Indian destinations FlyDubai announced late last month, along with Lucknow in the north and Coimbatore in the south, bringing the number of routes served to eight since it launched on June 1.

The airline already flies to Beirut, Amman, Damascus and Alexandria, and recently added Aleppo, Syria to its list of destinations.

To keep updated with the very latest news sign up to the Maktoob Business newsletter now.