Air India Express Mangalore-Dammam maiden flight takes off

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 3, 2013: A longstanding demand of the people of the region was fulfilled with the maiden Mangalore-Dammam Air India Express flight IXE 385 taking off from the Mangalore International Airport at   5 pm on April 3, Wednesday.

The flight with 160 passengers on board, had 109 passengers from Calicut and 59 from Mangalore. The flight took off from Calicut at 3 pm and landed in Mangalore Airport at 4 pm. It will now reach Dhahran after a  four and a half hours of journey.

 

The mood was festive at the Mangalore Airport as the flight from Calicut landed at 4 pm. Several dignitaries including Udupi-Chikmagalur MP Jayaprakash Hegde and Mangalore MLA UT Khader were among those who boarded the maiden flight.

Melwyn D’Silva, Deputy General Manager of Air India Express, welcomed the passengers and presented the boarding pass. He later said the Dammam flights are fully booked for a month. Airport Director T Radhakrishnan and several other officials were present.

The Air India Express will operate flights to Dammam twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The return flight will leave Dammam on Thursdays and Sundays.

Most of the passengers who were to board to the maiden flight expressed their joy over the commencement of the direct flight and were thankful to the elected representatives and leaders for their efforts in this direction. Many passengers who otherwise had to take a connecting flight from Mumbai to Dammam  said they were immensely pleased with the introduction of the direct flight services.