Alliance Air starts additional flights to Lakshadweep as demand for holidaying peaks

Additional Alliance Air flights will operate twice a week, on Sunday and Wednesday from January 21 to March 27 whereas SpiceJet will start flights to Lakshadweep island as part of the regional connectivity scheme, Udey Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN).

New Delhi: As demand for holidaying to Lakshadweep peaks after the diplomatic thaw between India and Maldives, airline companies have hiked their weekly flights to the coral reefs in the Laccadive Sea, off the coast of Kerala.

Alliance Air, which is the sole airline flying to Lakshadweep, announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it would add two flights weekly, Kochi-Agatti-Kochi, one each on Wednesdays and Sundays. Owing to growing demand, these additional flights will operate from January 21 to March 27. The airline flies 70-seater aircraft to Lakshadweep daily. All tickets till March have been sold out, as per sources.

SpiceJet, a low-cost carrier too announced Wednesday that it would start two flights to Lakshadweep island as part of the regional connectivity scheme, Udey Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN).

This development comes after the diplomatic tussle grappled India and Maldives last week after the latter's deputy minister and other government officials made unpleasant references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lakshadweep visit on January 22. To ensure damage control, the Maldivian government suspended the three accused ministers

Following this, '#BoycottMaldives' trended on social media for a few days urging Indian tourists, tourism and hospitality companies to avoid promoting Maldives. Several travel companies including EaseMyTrip and the Indian Chamber of Commerce along with leading faces from the Indian film industry as well as top celebrities urged citizens and respective associations to promote beach tourism in the tropical archipelago.

Lakshadweep, India's smallest Union Territory, isn’t very well-connected to other parts of the country. The only airline operating in Lakshadweep, Alliance Air, connects Kochi in Kerala, with Agatti Island, which has a small airport that serves the cluster island. The flight from Kochi to Agatti takes approximately 90 minutes.