Flights from Shimla to Kullu, Dharamsala may start after December 10

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 18

The proposal for starting flights between Shimla and Dharamsala and Kullu will have to wait till December 10 when the election process will be completed and the Model Code of Conduct is lifted.

The Tourism and Civil Aviation Department had sought permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI) to launch flights connecting the state capital with Dharamsala and Kullu. The Model Code of Conduct will remain enforced till December 10 and so the ECI has said that the launch of flights to these two destinations can wait.

The Tourism and Civil Aviation Department was keen that the proposed flights to Dharamsala and Kullu were started. The department took the plea that as December, especially around Christmas and New Year eve, witnesses a huge influx of tourists, flights should be resumed. However, the ECI turned down the request.

Earlier, flights from the Jubbarhatti airport, near here, were resumed on September 26 this year. Air Alliance has pressed into service its ATR-42 (600) aircraft from Shimla. It is expected that the flights available at a subsidised fare of Rs 2,500 will do well and will not be discontinued.

It is being hoped that the launch of flights from Shimla will help in attracting more tourists, who avoided coming here in the absence of regular flights. The ailing tourism industry, post-Covid, has improved with an appreciable increase in tourist footfall but it is still far below the tourist number witnessed in the pre-Covid period. However, even now there is little improvement in the arrival of foreign tourists as compared to domestic tourists.

The launch of flights from Shimla has been a long-pending demand of hoteliers. The flights between Shimla and Delhi are operating on all days of the week, the flight linking Shimla and Kullu will operate four days a week while the one between Shimla and Dharamsala will operate thrice a week.

The two airports at Bhuntar in Kullu and Gaggal in Dharamsala have regular and reliable air connectivity but the tourism sector in Shimla has suffered in the absence of regular and dependable flights from the Jubbarhatti airport. Efforts to link Shimla through heli-taxi have also not materialized.

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