Jet Airways, a full service airline from India, is stopping direct flights from the UAE to south Indian cities next month.

In a circular issued to travel agents this week, the airline announced that it will suspend operations to Kochi from Sharjah from February 10.

Confirming this to Gulf News, a spokesperson revealed that the airline suspended its Dubai-Kochi service on September 22 and its Dubai-Mangalore service on December 5.

"All passengers who were booked [on these flights] were taken care of in Mumbai or Delhi," he said.

It means that passengers who had booked direct flights after these dates were rebooked on flights with transit in Mumbai or Delhi, extending the duration of their journey for several hours.

With the Sharjah-Kochi flight being discontinued, the spokesperson confirmed that the airline will not have any services to south Indian cities.

"We are stopping operations to south India in phases as it is not profitable. Jet Airways is adding flights to Mumbai and Delhi, its two hubs. Guests can connect to various destinations across the Jet Airways extensive domestic and global network through these hubs," the spokesperson said.

The airline currently operates seven flights between Mumbai and Dubai and four flights between Delhi and Dubai daily.

Passengers with bookings on the Sharjah-Kochi route will be given the Mumbai/Delhi option.

"The first date change will be allowed up to 10 days earlier or later from the date of travel date without levying any penalty/ fee differential. On dates when there is no direct operation, the guest can be rerouted over BOM/DEL [Mumbai/Delhi] without stopover," the circular to travel agents said.

It said refund can be provided without cancellation penalties for a fully unutilised ticket and for the unused portion of a partially utilised ticket.

Passengers have to use the code 'SKD CHNG' in the endorsement box while rebooking tickets.

The airline added that once passengers accept one of the above options, any further change will be considered voluntary and attract applicable penalties/fare differential.

In a statement, the airline explained that it has "undertaken a comprehensive review of its network whereby it will move capacity from uneconomical routes to more profitable ones to more closely align the capacity offered with the demand characteristics of specific markets".

"As part of this strategy, Gulf operations are being optimised via the airline's hubs in Mumbai and Delhi instead of point-to-point connectivity... Jet Airways' guests [from GCC] can continue travelling to Kozhikode [Calicut], Kochi [Cochin], Mangaluru and Thiruvananthapuram using the airline's seamless connectivity over Mumbai," it added.