UAE residents travelling to the southern Indian state of Kerala can now expect continued flight services to Thiruvananthapuram, following earlier uncertainty over Air India Express' winter schedule.

Reports had suggested that Air India was planning to reduce the number of low-cost flights operated by its subsidiary, Air India Express, between Kerala and Gulf destinations for the upcoming winter season (October 2025–March 2026).

Indian Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor announced that Air India Express will reinstate key Gulf routes from Thiruvananthapuram, offering relief to passengers affected by recent flight reductions.

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In a post on X, Tharoor said the airline had confirmed that Dubai flights will restart from October 28 and Abu Dhabi services from December 3.

“Delighted to learn from @AirIndiaX that their flight operations are picking up from/to Thiruvananthapuram. As promised to me in my meeting with them, they will be reinstating Dubai flights from 28th October and Abu Dhabi services from 3rd December,” Tharoor wrote in his post.

He also said Air India will operate aircraft with a business-class configuration on the Thiruvananthapuram–Delhi route three times daily.

“@AirIndia will also operate aircraft with business class configuration on the TRV–DEL route three times daily. Happy to receive this information before Deepawali! Happy Deepawali to all air travellers in the state capital!”

Travel agencies in the UAE have since been informed of the continued operations through the winter.

Sudheesh TP, general manager of Deira Travel and Tourist Agency, said:“Flights are currently operating under the summer schedule, and bookings on the Trivandrum–Dubai–Trivandrum route are open until October 27.”

“Earlier, services were expected to be discontinued from October 28, but Air India Express has since reinstated them. Their sales team has confirmed that we can now accept bookings for the winter season as well,” added Sudheesh.

He added that in Abu Dhabi, there will be no flights between October 28 and December 2, but services will resume from December 3 onwards.

Air India has also announced that by 2026, the number of international flights from Kerala will increase to 231 and domestic flights to 245, offsetting the present shortfall.

Industry experts note that such flight rearrangements among private airlines are common. Since Air India Express was privatised in 2022, it is no longer expected to function entirely like a national carrier.

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