SRINAGAR: A day after regular evening flight operations started at the Srinagar International Airport, the first evening flight arrived in Srinagar from Bengaluru on Monday bringing cheer among flyers who frequently travel between the Valley and the city down south.
It may be mentioned that the Srinagar-Bengaluru direct flight has been resumed after a hiatus of more than one year due to Covid-19. Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Srinagar, Santosh Dhoke said the IndiGo flight departed from Bengaluru at 3:35 pm and arrived here at 7 pm. Dhoke said the flight had 180 passengers on-board. “After arriving here at 7 pm, this flight had its departure as per schedule at 7:30 pm.
The commencement of night flights has made the airport abuzz with activity and it will be beneficial for both locals as well as tourists,” Dhoke said. He said the Bengaluru-Srinagar direct flight will operate on a daily basis adding that various airliners have started direct flights between Srinagar and several other cities such as Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
The Airport Director said with resumption of night flights, the total number of daily flights has increased from 25 – 30 last month to almost 40 flights now. “As of now we have three evening daily flights which is likely to increase to almost 5 evening flights in the next few days,” Dhoke said. He said the airport was fully prepared to witness an increase in the number of flights. “If all goes well, we may have almost 50 flight arrivals by the end of June. This will help to cater to the tourist rush as well as help local flyers travel as per their desired time,” Dhoke said.
Meanwhile, Kashmiris who are residing in Bengaluru have welcomed the direct night flight between the southern city and Srinagar.
