Operations of Bahrain Air in the Bahrain-Thiruvananthapuram-Bahrain sector have been hit. The low-cost premium carrier has had to suspend operations within two weeks of launch.
An airline spokesman attributed this to non-availability of written approvals from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The airline has only managed to get a ‘verbal nod’ from the competent authority to operate flights with a promise of written assurance to follow.
A spokesman for the airline said that flights scheduled to operate from April 4 to 8 have now been cancelled.
The Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs authority, the Embassy of Bahrain in India and the Embassy of India in Bahrain are doing their best to obtain the written approval.
Only this would allow resumption of the summer schedule for 2012 as mutually agreed by the Government and diplomatic authorities of both Bahrain and India.
The airline has advised passengers to contact their travel agents or the Bahrain Air Call Centre on +973 17333777 to obtain refunds.
Hundreds of passengers bound from Thiruvananthapuram to Bahrain and seeking onward connections to other destinations have been affected.