NEW DELHI: For any expat travelling to and from the Gulf, sky-high air ticket prices are a recurring nightmare. The situation worsens during the holiday season. Typically, airlines charge four to five times the regular price during peak seasons, taking advantage of the expat community's need for travel. Expatriates travelling with their families are the ones severely affected by air ticket rates. The state government's proposal of chartered flights was a highly anticipated solution to this issue.

According to the latest reports, the central government is unlikely to approve the chartered flight concept. It was the state government that initiated this idea. Last year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting the proposal. Reports suggest that the state government has backed off from its chartered flight proposal on realizing that the central government is unlikely to grant approval to the idea.

The Centre's stance is that since international services are dealings between two countries, Kerala's intervention in the matter will be limited. Chartered flights would have brought significant relief to expats. To offset losses incurred by airlines, the state government had also announced a corpus fund of Rs 15 crore.