Etihad Airways returns to Kozhikode Airport; flight services to resume from Jan 1

Karipur: Etihad Airways, one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, will resume its flight operations at Kozhikode International Airport from January 1, 2024. The Kozhikode-Abu Dhabi Etihad service is back on track after a hiatus of two years. The ticket fares will start from Rs 20,000.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions placed on operating wide-bodied aircraft, Etihad winded up its services at the airport. In the past, Etihad used to operate four services daily between Kozhikode and Abu Dhabi. 

The new development comes as flights with a capacity of carrying up to 300 passengers have been granted permission to operate via Kozhikode airport.      

As per the latest schedule, the flight which takes off from Abu Dhabi at 2:20 p.m. will reach Karipur by 7:05 p.m. Similarly, the Abu Dhabi-bound flight will take off from Karipur airport at 9:30 p.m. and reach its destination by 12:05 a.m. Discussions are in progress to introduce more services on the route.

Along with this, the Air India Express will also launch services between Kozhikode and Bengaluru starting from January 16. The flight that takes off at 8:15 p.m. from Kozhikode will reach Bengaluru by 9:15 p.m. Similarly, the 6:45 p.m. flight from Bengaluru will land at Karipur airport by 7:45 p.m.

The ticket rates for the domestic flights will begin from Rs 2,990. At present, only IndiGo is operating the Kozhikode-Bengaluru service. The airline is running 15 services per week. IndiGo operates three services on the route on Tuesdays and two services per day for the rest of the week. The ticket prices start at Rs 2,800.