Preparations for direct flights from India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh underway

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation yesterday received the revised operating requests from the national airlines (Kuwait Airways and  Al Jazeera) in preparation for the start of operating commercial flights to Egypt, India and a number of Asian countries, which the Cabinet yesterday approved to operate after the increase in the daily arrival numbers.

Sources told Arabic daily Al Anba that Kuwait Airways submitted a request to operate two flights per day to Egypt, to Cairo International Airport and 3 flights per week to Burj Al Arab Airport in Alexandria.

Meanwhile, the sources said that Jazeera Airways submitted a request to operate two flights per day to Cairo.

Al Jazeera also submitted a request to operate one flight per day to India and one flight per week to Sri Lanka. As for the Kuwai Airways it has also submitted requests to operate flights to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. No national airline has applied to operate in Nepal so far.

Sources revealed that the Air Transport Department in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation have addressed the civil aviation authorities in the five countries (Egypt – India – Bangladesh – Pakistan – Ceylon) to start operating commercial flights, and accordingly, a civil aviation statement will be received from those countries and requests will be received later. Operating from its national subsidiaries, preparing operating schedules, and giving the green light to start flights.

The sources added: “We expect this period to take between a week and 10 days from now to start the process of operating flights, which we expect to be the end of next week or the week after. However, the sources stressed that the matter depends on the speed of the response of the civil aviation authorities in those countries to respond to Kuwait Civil Aviation and learn about operating requests from airlines on these lines.