Tag Archives: Cochin

Maldivian is set to start direct flights from New Delhi to Maafaru and Male’ on 21st October 2021 and will be operating A321 & A320 on this route offering both business and economy class configuration. The national carrier of Republic of Maldives, owned and operated by Island Aviation Services Limited (IAS), currently operates to Trivandrum, Cochin and to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bird Travels, the airline management arm of Bird Group is the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Maldivian and will be managing their sales and marketing activities in New Delhi. Flights on the new route, New Delhi to Maafaru, will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Maafaru International Airport located in Noonu atoll was opened in 2019 and is also managed by Island Aviation Services Limited (IAS). With three direct weekly flights to Maafaru, another international hub of the largest source market, will connect North Maldives from India. Cocooned by some of the most sought-after luxury resorts in the destination, along with a large number of guest houses, the region is home to over 10,000 tourist beds spread across four atolls making this new route a highly lucrative leisure market. Speaking on the new route, Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group said “We are delighted to launch this new service connecting New Delhi with Maafaru and Male’ effective 21st Oct 2021. This direct flight will offer the fastest connection for Indian travelers looking to holiday in North Maldives luxury resorts”. Bird Travels will help Maldivian to further strengthen the airline’s sales team and provide support to the Indian travel trade.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Sagarika International Cruise Terminal at Cochin and said that Government of India is taking many efforts to improve tourism related infrastructure in Kerala. “The inauguration of this International Cruise Terminal is one example of this. It brings both comfort and convenience for tourists,” he said.

As part of its international expansion, IndiGo is set to operate its first daily flight from Amritsar to Dubai. The low-cost carrier now operates 13 daily flights between India and Dubai. In addition, the airline will also operate flights between Kolkata-Cochin and Bangalore-Pune. Both services will commence from October 2018. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “We are absolutely delighted to announce our first daily flight to Dubai from Amritsar and Kolkata to Cochin effective October this year. We will also operate an additional flight between Bengaluru and Pune. The launch of these new services is in line with our growth strategy outlined for both domestic and international markets.” He further added, “IndiGo will continue to expand its network to meet the requirements of both business and leisure travellers wherever they demand it. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice for our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on time, courteous and hassle-free service and always an affordable flying experience.”

Due to heavy rains in Kerala, operations to and from Cochin airport have been suspended from August 15-18, 2018 on account of water rising in the operational area. However, Trivandrum and Calicut airports are available for scheduled operations. For international operations, both immigration and customs facilities are available 24*7 at these airports. Trivandrum airport can also accommodate wide-body aircraft. In view of the above and to cater for the stranded passengers, scheduled domestic airlines have been advised to reschedule their flights to/from Cochin to Trivandrum and Calicut airports till such time the situation at Cochin airport returns to normal. All scheduled domestic airlines have been advised to ensure that airfares for flights to/from   Trivandrum   and   Calicut  airports  in   Kerala are kept at optimal level proportionate to sector distance so that travelling public is not inconvenienced.

Weizmann Forex has announced that it has been awarded licenses to operate foreign exchange counters across Hyderabad, Goa, Cochin, Chandigarh and Mumbai airports. Out of these five cities, the company has received exclusive rights for Goa and Hyderabad airports for six and five counters, respectively. In these five cities the company has received mandates for three years at three and five years at two airports. With these additions, Weizmann Forex now operates 18 airport forex counters across the country. Commenting on the development, B Karthikeyan, Managing Director, Weizmann Forex Limited said, “As part of our strategy, we are committed to serving our customers through multiple touch points in an omni-channel distribution strategy that covers its digital website, substantial branch network and a renewed focus on airports. We have increased our presence across various Indian airports which will significantly enhance our brand visibility while enabling us to serve more walk-in customers. Going beyond business objectives, we remain conscious about our customers’ need for convenient access, the need of our airport partners to provide world-class ambience and experience and also our own objective as a responsible company to protect the environment for ourselves and for our future generations. We are committed to staying in the path of relevance of our customers by providing new, innovative and value-added offerings, helping us strengthen our position as a leading player in the forex and remittances space.”  

National carrier, Air India has become the first airline to launch self check-in kiosks for its domestic fliers that aims to make the check-in process expeditious. The exclusive service presently covers 26 domestic centers at Aurangabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Calicut, Coimbatore, Cochin, Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Nagpur, New Delhi, Mumbai, Mangalore, Raipur, Rajkot, Trivandrum, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam and Varanasi. Under this initiative, started on May 1, 2016, customers can procure the boarding pass by using the self-check-in kiosks also known as CUSS (Common Use Self Service) near the check-in area at the airport.

United Kingdom (UK) granted over 360,000 visitor visas, until September 2015, a 16.5 per cent increase year on year, according to recently released statistics. With the commercial partner VFS, UK offers 15 visa application centres across India, more than in any other country. Visa application centres are situated in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Mumbai South, Mumbai North, Pune, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Jaipur and Goa. A number of premium services are offered to the UK Visa applicants at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). VFS Users can avail walk in appointments where urgent travellers or those who have missed their appointment, can pay Rs 2537 to get a walk in appointment. Digital Assistance is provided in filling out the visa application form on the visa4uk website. The staff reads out questions on the form, and records the answers verbatim on behalf of the applicant for an extra cost of Rs 400. Group Appointments is available for group travellers who can apply at the same visa application centre at a particular time and day. This service is extended to all groups including tour operators, large families, conferences etc for Rs 500 per application. Travellers can pay for their visa by cash at the VAC, using VFS Global’s Credit Card at an additional cost of Rs 1000 per transaction. Certification service enables travellers to keep hold of their original documents. Applicants need to bring original documentation to the VAC to show VFS staff, who photocopy the documents and send to the decision hub along with the application. This service costs Rs 50 per document page. In 2015, India became the second country to benefit from the British Irish Visa Scheme, allowing Indian …