Air India Express Budget Service inaugurated
	14:51 IST

Air India Express Budget Service was inaugurated today at Thiruvananthapuram airport by Kerala Governor, Shri R.L. Bhatia, who flagged off the first flight to Abu Dhabi. Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel, presided over the inaugural function. Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Oommen Chandy, delivered the keynote address. Shri Praful Patel said that Air India Express is true representation of India’s ethos and reflected the soul of India. Air India Express is a new cheaper but comfortable airlines especially for those who work in Gulf for a living. Brothers and sisters of Kerala brought hard earned foreign exchange to India when we needed foreign exchange badly. Now is the time to give them something back and this cheap, affordable service is the perfect gift. Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto Air India Express Budget Service and Kolkata-London Airline Express Service will be started next month, the Minister said. Aviation can change the lives of Indians. He said that the mindset that airlines is only for the elite should be changed. Connectivity is important and reaching destination in time in a cheap mode of travel should get prominence. The Union Minister agreed to Kerala CM Shri Oommen Chandy’s request for an airport in Kannur. There will be no dearth in time for development. He said that sanction will be given for the development works in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airports. Later, Union Minister, Shri Praful Patel, along with Kerala, Chief Minister, Shri Oommen Chandy, boarded the inaugural Air India Express flight to Abudhabi. Air India Express will have fares which are almost half of the market rates, said Shri . Thulasidas, CMD, Air India, who welcomed the gathering. MC/GK