Ludhiana gets Dehradun, Delhi air link from this week

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, September 4

Ludhiana will be connected to Delhi, Dehradun and Bathinda through flights being launched this week.

The inaugural flight between Ludhiana and Delhi will operate from September 6 while it will be connected to Dehradun on September 7 and Bathinda from September 8 onwards.

Ludhiana-Bathinda flight soon

• Rs 3,148 One-way fare between Delhi and Ludhiana
• 85 minutes it will take to reach Ludhiana
• 2.40 hours the connecting flight to and from Ludhiana and Dehradun will take
• Rs 5,279 a passenger will be charged for Dehradun
• 5 days a week from Monday to Friday

The route has been awarded to Big Charters with a 19-seater aircraft under UDAN.

The development assumes significance as the lone Ludhiana-Delhi flight had been suspended since August 2020 following which the locals, especially industrialists, were forced to either travel by road or take flight to Delhi from Mohali.

Sahnewal airport

While these flights will take off and land at the Sahnewal domestic airport, the operations will be later shifted to the upcoming international airport at Halwara near Ludhiana, which is expected to be ready shortly

Besides resuming the flight to Delhi and connecting it with Dehradun and Bathinda, more domestic flights from Ludhiana to different destinations are also on the anvil.

This was made possible after Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora impressed upon Union Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia to restart flights from Ludhiana. While these flights will take off and land at the Sahnewal domestic airport, the operations will be later shifted to the upcoming international airport at Halwara near here, which is expected to be ready shortly.

Arora said here on Monday that the resumption of direct flight from Ludhiana to Delhi would not only promote the trade but also facilitate residents to travel more frequently with more ease and safety.

Firm’s Managing Director Sanjay Mandavia said the one-way fare of the flight between Delhi and Ludhiana would be Rs 3,148 and would take 1 hour 25 minutes to reach Ludhiana from Delhi while the return journey will be covered in 1 hour and 15 minutes only.

The connecting flight to and fro Ludhiana and Dehradun will take 2.40 hours with a 20-minute layoff in Delhi. A passenger will be charged Rs 5,279. However, the schedule and fare of the connecting flight to and fro Ludhiana and Bathinda is yet to be finalised.

He disclosed that the flight would operate five days a week from Monday to Friday daily. Mandavia said the flight would operate daily from October end.

The inaugural flight will take off from Hindon domestic airport at 9:25 am on September 6 and arrive at Sahnewal at 10:50 am while the return flight will depart from Sahnewal at 11:10 am to reach Hindon at 12:25 pm.

On September 7, the flight will take off from Dehradun at 8:10 am and reach Ludhiana at 10:50 am. It will land at Delhi at 9:05 am to take off at 9:25 am for reaching Ludhiana at 10:50 am.

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