June 16 date for 1st Srinagar flight after Pahalgam attack
Kolkata: Flights to Srinagar, which were discontinued days after the terror attack at Pahalgam on April 22, are set to restart from Kolkata on June 16. Flights have also resumed to Hindon in Ghaziabad near Delhi, along with Amritsar and Chandigarh.
These flights were grounded in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
Air India Express
, which operates the daily service to Hindon, said the flight bounced back and was attracting good loads. IndiGo also confirmed the response to its Amritsar and Chandigarh flights was encouraging.
Sources in
IndiGo Airlines
said the carrier will resume operations to Srinagar airport from June 16, a month and a half after it discont-inued operations following low loads around April-end as tourist flow to Kashmir plummeted.
Air India Express, which also used to operate a daily direct service to Srinagar from Kolkata, said the airline decided to adopt a wait-and-watch strategy on Srinagar to see how its competitor fared before considering the reintroduction of the flight.
While Srinagar airport was officially shut down on May 7 — after India launched Operation Sindoor to hit terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir — Air India Express and IndiGo Airlines stopped flights from Kolkata to the airport even earlier due to poor loads.
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Apart from Srinagar, 31 other airports were temporarily shut. Kolkata had flights to four of these airports, including Srinagar. Flights to three airports — Amritsar, Chandigarh, and Hindon — were reinstated last week.
Sources in IndiGo said the delayed resumption of flights to Srinagar was to ensure that there was enough time for tourist confidence to revive after the attack and for passenger loads to improve. Furthermore, aircraft were diverted to other sectors, and schedules needed to be reworked. Travel agents said they were looking forward to the reintroduction of direct flights from
Kolkata to Srinagar
to revive tourism in Kashmir.
Over 100 travel agents and their associates in Kolkata have pledged to hard-sell Kashmir again.
"IndiGo has not rushed into reintroducing the flight but taken a window so that the loads improve by that time. We are delighted that the flights that had been suspended during Operation Sindoor are all being reinstated," said TAFI national committee member Anil Punjabi.
TAAI national committee member Manav Soni welcomed the development. "We want to support Kashmir tourism and reintroduction of the direct flight to Srinagar will certainly help the cause. This vital air connection after disturbance will significantly enhance connectivity, making travel to the scenic Kashmir Valley more accessible and convenient for travellers from eastern India. We commend the efforts involved in reinstating this important route and encourage travellers and tour operators to make the most of this opportunity to rediscover the beauty and hospitality of Srinagar," he said.
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