Kochi: With the new terminal (T3) set to launch in March, the Cochin International Airport Ltd's (Cial) search for an airline to provide direct flight connections from Kochi to Europe still continues with no certain answer yet.Airport director Chandrakumaran Nair A said that they were holding talks with three airline companies looking into the possibilities of direct flights. "Lufthansa would be ideal for Cial, as it would connect Kochi with Frankfurt airport. At the launch event of Air India's Dreamliner aircraft connecting Kochi and Dubai, Air India's director (commercial) Pankaj Srivastava said about the possibility of Dreamliner connecting Kochi and Europe. He said he has no qualms about instating a direct flight from Kochi as long Cial is able to guarantee full capacity for their flights. "As per a survey conducted by Cial a couple of years ago, around 900-1,000 passengers fly from Cial to Europe daily," said Nair.He added that most passengers either fly to Europe via connection flights from Bengaluru and Dubai and that Emirates and Etihad are among the leading airline services that connects Europe and Kochi.Last year, Cial had announced that they were willing to wave-off parking and landing charges for one year to woo airline companies.

Source: Times of India February 20, 2017 18:00 UTC