Mangalore, April 3, 2013
It was a dream come true for thousands of people of the coastal regions of Mangalore and Udupi when the first direct Air India Express flight from Mangalore International Airport to Dhahran International Airport near Dammamn took off today, April 3, 2013 at 5 pm. The flight is scheduled to land at Dhahran International Airport at 9.30 pm after a four-and-half-hour journey.
The first direct flight to Saudi from Mangalore had 165 passengers on board – 109 passengers from Calicut and 56 from Mangalore. The flight took off from Calicut at 3 pm and landed at Mangalore airport at 4 pm. Within an hour it took off to Dammam at 5 pm.
MP Jayaprakash Hegde and MLA U T Khader were among the 165 passengers in the inaugural flight.
The direct flight from Mangalore to Saudi has been like a long-cherished dream becoming a reality to thousands of passengers travelling to Saudi./ENN
