Wings clipped

Air passengers bound for Mumbai from Ranchi have two less carriers to choose from with JetLite and Kingfisher suspending their services to the commercial capital from Birsa Munda Airport.

While Kingfisher suspended services indefinitely from Sunday, Jetlite withdrew services on Saturday, leaving passengers with only Air India and Go Airways to choose from to fly to Mumbai.

JetLite’s Ranchi-Mumbai flight took off from the capital at 8.30am and landed in Mumbai at 11am, and was thus popular with those travelling on business or those with international connections to catch. The Kingfisher flight to Mumbai was at 3.30pm.

“We have been told that flights have been temporarily suspended and services to different sectors may resume in the future. Till then, passengers have to wait,” said C.P. Yadav, station manager of Kingfisher at Birsa Munda Airport.

Airport officials too confirmed that the two Ranchi-Mumbai flights had been grounded. “Both flights seem to have been withdrawn. While we are not aware of the problem that forced JetLite to pull out, Kingfisher stopped flights from this sector due to its ongoing financial crisis,” said an official requesting anonymity.

While admitting that JetLite flights to Mumbai had been suspended, Jet Airways officials at Birsa Munda Airport could not throw light on whether there will be a new flight from the airlines to replace the suspended service.

“As of now, we have not been communicated any new flight plan for Mumbai. If the higher authorities decide on the same, we will be told in advance,” said a Jet Airways official, who did not wish to be named.

Before the two airlines withdrew from the fray, there were four flights — Air India, Go Airways, JetLite and Kingfisher — daily from Ranchi to Mumbai. The timing of the flights were worked out in such a manner that passengers had the option to fly anytime between 8.30am and 7pm.

Suspension of its Mumbai flight was the last for Kingfisher, which at one point operated the maximum number of flights from Birsa Munda Airport. It had earlier withdrawn its services from the capital to Delhi, Calcutta and Patna, before stopping the Mumbai flights.

On the other hand, Jet Airways, which operated its Ranchi-Mumbai flight under the JetLite code, is still operating one flight each on the Ranchi-Delhi, Ranchi-Calcutta and Ranchi-Patna sectors.

Meanwhile, withdrawal of services by two carriers has negatively impacted passengers and tour operators alike.

“The morning service from Birsa Munda Airport to Mumbai was very important because it helped passengers catch connecting international flights without wasting much time. We used to get connecting flights to Dubai, Mauritius et al for our tourists from Mumbai,” said Soni Mehta, proprietor of Skyland Tour and Travel agency in the state capital.