Indian airline Spicejet will resume flights between Dubai and five Indian cities from Monday until the end of this month under the ‘air bubble’ arrangement between UAE and India.
The budget carrier will operate return flights to Dubai from Calicut, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Madurai over the coming fortnight.
Spicejet becomes the third Indian private airline to resume flight operations to the UAE under the bilateral air bubble pact, after Go Air and Vistara.
Airline industry sources said Indigo will commence flights to the UAE from Tuesday.
Air India Express was the first to resume flight services, after the UAE and India agreed to extend the special flight services under an ‘air bubble’ pact earlier this month.
Indians holding any type of valid visa for the UAE and UAE nationals can book flights to Dubai, while UAE nationals holding valid visa for India, stranded Indian nationals and all overseas citizens of India (OCI) cardholders holding UAE passports can book on flights from Dubai to the Indian cities, Spicejet said.
As per the schedule released by Spicejet, the carrier will operate the maximum number of 9 flights each between Dubai and Calicut, while it will operate 7 flights each between Dubai and Delhi.
There will be 4 flights each from Mumbai and Jaipur and Dubai, while it will have 2 flights operating to and from Dubai to Madurai.
The decision of more Indian carriers to resume flights under the bubble arrangement with UAE is a clear reflection of rising demand for travel between the two countries.
While flights from UAE to India are said to operate at almost full capacity because of the largescale return of Indian expats, the number of Indians returning to Dubai and other cities in the UAE has also increased of late, after the recent announcement to relax rules for expats returning to the country.
According to the Dubai Consulate General of India, over 500,000 Indians have registered with it for repatriation to India, out of which 275,000 have left till 2 August.
Spicejet, which has been actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for its cargo operations, has also said it has inducted its first wide-body Airbus A340 cargo aircraft for operating on long-haul routes.
The Indian carrier currently operates cargo flights to 41 international destinations, including several cities in the Middle East.
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