Mangaluru-Jeddah direct weekly fight from April 3

Mangaluru International Airport is all set to have direct flight connectivity to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from April. The flight to Jeddah will take flight connectivity from Mangaluru International Airport to eight international destinations.

Air India Express has announced the weekly flight that will operate every Wednesday starting April 3. Flight IX 499 Mangaluru-Jeddah will depart at 2.50 p.m. and reach Jeddah at 6.25 p.m. (local time). On the return leg, IX 498 will depart Jeddah at 7.25 p.m. (local time) and reach Mangaluru at 3.40 a.m. on Thursday.

The airline has opened booking for this new sector in which a 186-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft with all-economy configuration will be deployed.

At present, Mangaluru has international flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai (UAE), Bahrain, Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar), Kuwait, and Muscat (Oman).

Air India Express operates two flights daily to Dubai while IndiGo operates four flights a week to the destination. Air India Express operates flights to Abu Dhabi (four times a week), Dammam and Muscat (thrice a week), Bahrain and Doha (twice a week), and Kuwait (once a week).

International airports in India operate flights to overseas destinations based on bilateral air service agreements (ASA).