RAK Indian associations threaten Air India boycott

Major community organisations representing Indian expatriates living in and around Ras Al Khaimah have called on the Indian Government to increase the number of daily flights between various Indian cities and the emirate.

The office bearers of eight Indian community Associations in Ras Al Khaimah said they will boycott Air India, the Indian national carrier during the forthcoming summer holiday season, if their demand is not met.

Representatives of the association said for the 450,000-odd Indians living in Ras Al Khaimah there are a very limited number of flights to Indian cities. This forces them to travel by road to Sharjah, Dubai or Abu Dhabi to catch a flight home – a commute of flour hours when flying.

The community members have sent several memorandums and complaints to the new Indian Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, who has promised to look into the matter.

“It takes minimum four hours by road to reach Sharjah, Dubai or Abu Dhabi Airports and if there is road congestion, some families miss their flights,” said S A Saleem, President Indian Association, Ras Al Khaimah and Chairman of Indian School Ras Al Khaimah.

“Around 450,000 Indians alone reside in the catchment area of Ras Al Khaimah. Even though there is an airport in Ras Al Khaimah, there is only one flight operating from this airport to one city in India,” he added, during a media briefing.

He added that the Ras Al Khaimah Airport is fully equipped to operate international flights to India. “The Chairman of Ras Al Khaimah Airport and Ras Al Khaimah Civil Aviation are both on record welcoming Indian carriers to operate from this airport. However, it appears that the return gesture from Indian carriers is not forthcoming.”

Eight Indian community associations in Ras Al Khaimah--Indian Overseas Congress, Indian Association RAK, Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC), Kerala Samajam, Kannur Association of Ras Al Khaimah, Sakthi Kasargodu, Ras Al Khaimah Kasargodu Association, Ashraya Kasargodu — have appealed to the Indian Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi and the Kerala State Chief Minister Ommen Chandy to look seriously into the matter and to commence direct air services between Ras Al Khaimah and Indian cities like Cochin, Trivandrum, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai.

“This should be done quickly, ideally in readiness for the commencement of the school holidays next month as the majority of families will be travelling during this period.
If no favourable actions are taken in this regard with immediate effect the various associations will encourage Indian community to even boycott Air India during the upcoming holiday season,” he added.

“Their reasoning for more direct flights linking Ras al Khaimah and India goes further as there are more than 1,000 Indian companies operating out of Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone alone, where the majority of investors are from Kerala, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad,” M M Nooruddin, President, Indian Overseas Congress said.

A K Sethnathan, President, Kerala Samajam said daily about 500 tourist visas are issued from Ras Al Khaimah and a lot of UAE nationals from the emirate visit India for medical tourism and business.

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