Air India Express, India’s leading low cost carrier, will introduce Ras Al Khaimah as a new destination on its summer schedule this month, connecting the UAE emirate and Kozhikode (Calicut) in India.

This comes on the back of the commencement of scheduled flights by Qatar Airways between Ras Al Khaimah and Doha last week and the announcement of other development projects at RAK International.

The announcement was made during a press conference that was attended by Eng. Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, chairman of RAK Airport and Department of Civil Aviation; Muralidharan, the deputy consul general of India; Mohammed Qazi, CEO and board member RAK International Airport; and K. Shyamsunder, chief executive officer, Air India Express, among others.

The service connecting Ras Al Khaimah to Kozhikode would be operational from March 28 and would operate on four days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), gradually expanding to a daily service in the near future.

Eng. Al Qasimi, chairman of RAK Airport and Department of Civil Aviation, said: “I am delighted to welcome Air India Express to Ras Al Khaimah.  There was much need for this connectivity, but we also believe that this route may require more than a daily frequency to satisfy the growing demand. We would therefore urge the authorities to consider the needs of the passengers and increase seat allocations for high demand sectors.”

Ras Al Khaimah International’s CEO Mohammed Qazi said: “India has strong ties with Ras Al Khaimah for the business and leisure markets, going both ways. We are confident that the route will be a great success, as the market already exists and is growing. We hope to see Air India Express grow its footprint in the Northern Emirates, both in terms of frequencies and routes.” - TradeArabia News Service