Air-India Express will fly to Bahrain next summer

Dubai, Sep 24 (UNI) Low-cost airline Air-India Express (AIE) will fly to Bahrain only in next summer instead of October this year as was earlier announced, a senior airline official said here.

The official cited shortage of aircraft and 'diversion of planes to other lucrative routes' as the reason behind the move.

The airline was first expected to fly in to Bahrain in April last year but it was delayed to the winter season.

In what can be a set back for people of Mumbai and Delhi, the source said that these cities might not be connected to Bahrain through the AIE.

''The routes are simply not profitable, and we will concentrate only on the South Indian market (Kerala) because that is where the loads are,'' the official said.

Flights from points in Kerala to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, among other destinations in the Gulf, report a load factor of more than 90 per cent, while from Delhi and Mumbai to same destinations it is less than 50 per cent.

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