Bookings have come down, cancellations have increased, say travel agents; many from the North Kerala district prefer to use the Kozhikode airport.
Many people from Kasargod with jobs or business interests in the Middle East find Bajpe airport convenient for their air travels due to the proximity of the Northern Kerala district to Mangalore. But, henceforth, safety will be of greater concern for them than convenience, they say.
The Bajpe airport saw one of the worst accidents in the history of Indian aviation when an Air India Express flight from Dubai crashed after overshooting the runway, killing 158 people.
Ever since the crash of the IX 812 flight on Saturday, the airport has seen a drop in bookings. “The bookings for air travel from this table top airport have come down,” NA Suleiman, vice-president of the Kerala Association of Travel Agents (KATA), said.
A native of Kasargod, Suleiman said that passengers who had booked themselves on flights flying out of Bajpe airport were now cancelling their tickets. “We have had several cancellations after the crash, and the number of travellers cancelling their tickets is only increasing by the day,” he said. “On an average, there are 20-30 cancellations each day.”
Now, most travellers preferred to go to the Gulf from Kozhikode, about 200km from Kasargod, Suleiman said. “They prefer to go to Kozhikode, which is at least 200 km from Kasargod, compared to Bajpe, which is at a distance of 60 km to 100 km from any place in the district,” he said. “We are seeing a strong aversion on the part of passengers to book tickets on Air India Express, a budget airline run by the central government,” he said.
There were some enquiries, though, for tickets on Air Arabia and Emirates flights taking off from Bajpe, Suleiman said.
Suleiman hoped that the public fear of flying from Mangalore, a type of paranoia that had set in among fliers from the region, would be wiped out with the passing of time. “Soon after the mishap, many said that the very sight of the Bajpe airport gave them the shivers. Even those who approached us for cancellation of tickets they had booked before the mishap told us that they could not think of flying out of Bajpe,” he said.
“I will never fly Air India Express any more,” Sunil Joseph, a first cousin of Riju George of Padnekad in Nileshwar of Kasargod district who died in the crash, said. “The flight is cramped and the noise in the cabin is unbearable. In the name of budget airline, they should not give us a bullock cart ride,” he remarked.
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