Tiruchy–Dubai flight service resumes after 50-day suspension

CHENNAI: After a gap of nearly 50 days, direct flights between Tiruchy and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates are set to resume from Sunday (April 19). The daily service by Air India Express is currently planned to operate until the end of this month.

Quoting airport officials, a Daily Thanthi report said the Air India Express flight will depart Dubai at 3.55 pm (IST) and arrive in Tiruchy at 10 pm. The return service will leave Tiruchy at 12.10 pm and reach Dubai at 2.55 pm.

Airport Director SS Raju clarified that service has resumed only in the Dubai route for now, while flights to other UAE destinations such as Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are yet to restart. The revised flight schedule is expected to come into effect from May 1.

Flight service to the UAE from Tiruchy was halted since February 28, the day when the West Asia conflict broke out after the US and Israel began attacking Iran.

In the absence of direct connectivity, travellers from Tiruchy had been depending on Chennai and Colombo airports to reach Gulf destinations.

The decision to restart services came after the war was put on pause, and it would ease travel for passengers and provide relief to exporters.

Over the past two months, the suspension of flight service to the Gulf countries had reduced passenger traffic at the airport and impacted exporters dealing in perishable goods like fruits, vegetables and flowers bound for markets in the UAE.