Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday posted on Instagram, a letter he wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. In the letter, CM Vijayan requests Scindia to look into the exorbitant airfares, particularly to Kerala, from August 15 to September 15.
In the letter he writes, that it is during this period that several Malayalees travel from various parts of the country to Kerala to celebrate the festival of Onam. Onam this year, falls on August 28. The ten-day festival is celebrated by exchanging gifts, cooking feasts and visiting family. 'A letter has been sent to Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia seeking urgent intervention in the face of skyrocketing airfares to Kerala,' Vijayan wrote on Instagram.
“The steep airfare costs have compelled a significant number of Kerala expats and non-resident Keralites to cancel or postpone their travel plans,”. He writes in the letter. “In view of this I request your kind intervention to authorize the operation of chartered flights to transport non-resident Keralites from the UAE to India, specifically for the Onam festivities,” the letter reads. In the letter, he also says that he would be grateful if you (Scindia) can issue the necessary directives to the regulatory authority and relevant departments to facilitate this arrangement.
On June 28, Jyotiraditya Scindia had written to CM Vijayan on Calicut airport and runway safety issues; and expressed his anguish over the delay in the provision of a Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both ends of the runway at Calicut airport.
