Flights from Jammu cut, airfares remain high

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 16

Keeping the demand-supply principle in mind, two airlines have withdrawn four flights in the past six months from the Jammu airport to keep the airfares towards higher side.

On an average, the airport got 21 flights daily during this time last year. Now, it has 17 flights per day.

Though the airlines gave no reason for their decision, experts claimed that it was a strategy to keep the airfares on the higher side.

“If the passengers have limited flights from any place, they will have to shell out more for travel. Just to sell tickets at higher rates, airlines have withdrawn the flights,” said sources at the airport.

While Indigo Airlines has cancelled three flights, SpiceJet has withdrawn one flight from the Jammu airport. In March this year, Indigo withdrew the flights on the Bengaluru-Delhi-Amritsar-Jammu route. On August 16, it cancelled the regular flight from Hyderabad-Jaipur-Jammu and back. On September 1, it withdrew its flight between Jammu-Delhi, which was the first morning flight from Jammu to Delhi departing.

Similarly, SpiceJet had withdrawn its flight on the Jaipur-Chandigarh-Dehradun-Jammu route and back in March this year.

Frequent flyers and tourism stakeholders are concerned over the move of the airlines.

Pertinently, about 3 lakh Amarnath pilgrims visit the state during the summer. More than 80,000 Vaishno Devi pilgrims visits Jammu every year to pay obeisance at the shrine. However, reduction in the number of flights and highers airfares will discourage tourists and pilgrims to visit the city of temples.

Jammu Airport, which upgraded its terminals last year and started a runway expansion project, has the capacity of five flights per hour.

“We have upgraded the infrastructure at the airport for the airlines as well as passengers. We would be happy if the operators introduce more flights for different routes from Jammu. Unfortunately, the number has fallen,” said DK Gautam, Director, Jammu Airport.

“The reason is best known to them (airlines), but they always withdraw the flights for commercial reasons,” he added.