Dammam-Hyderabad flight needs to be restored, say expats

The Indian expatriate community from Andhra Pradesh living in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia has launched a campaign calling for the restoration of direct flights between Dammam and Hyderabad on the national flag carrier, Air India.
It intends to mobilize the support of the expatriate community by conducting field visits and spreading the word on social media platforms.
The community members said they have faced numerous difficulties due to the discontinuation of direct flights from Dammam, highlighting especially the plight of children and families that travel in the sector.
Prominent nonresident Indian community members of the state sent a memorandum to Indian officials in New Delhi yesterday demanding the restoration of the flight and also met with Air India Manager in the Eastern Province, Renchan Tshering.
The members argued that a total of 300,000 passengers travel to and from the Eastern Province to Hyderabad every year, with approximately 17,000 families.
According to prominent community member Radhakrishna Ravi, the lease of the Air India aircraft operate from Dammam to Hyderabad was completed but suddenly grounded. He questioned why Air India would not operate on such a route when eight other airlines are.
He also requested the operation of flights to Vishakapatnam, the second major city in the state. Radhakrishna Ravi said that Andhra Pradesh community has been waiting for a year now for the flights to resume, to no avail, which is why they have resorted to launching a campaign.
The delegation comprising Mir Sadat Ali, Hameeduddin Ahmed, Khaled Saifullah, Hakeem Dowla, Talari, Manor Srivastav, Shafi Shamsi, Mirza Zaheer Baig, K.K. Ahmed and Mohammed Liaqatullah met with the Air India official.