Srinagar air traffic picking up

The air traffic to the summer capital Srinagar is gradually picking up after the government announced resumption of the domestic operations last month.

An official said the airlines catering to Srinagar route have decided to add four to five new flights to their summer schedule they have submitted to the central aviation regulator.

   

The new schedule which has became effective last week will take total number of daily flights operating on Srinagar route to more than 15, said Director, Airports Authority of India, Srinagar Airport, Santosh Dhoke.

Under previous schedule there were 11 flights operating daily on the Srinagar route. The schedule was applicable between May 25 and June 30, he said.

The Director said the new schedule will be applicable for the next one month after which there would be another revision of the flight operations.

“Before the outbreak of the pandemic, we used to have almost 32 flight arrivals. We are hopeful that full scale operations will be possible once the situation improves,” he said.

The air traffic resumed on May 25 after remaining suspended for around two months in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic.

Since then, more than 50,000 persons have arrived at Srinagar airport from various cities within and outside the country.

The Director said the decision by the airlines to increase the number of flights has come after Union Ministry of Civil Aviation allowed increase in the air traffic from 33 percent to 45 percent under Unlock 2.0.

“There has been a huge demand for air travel but we are ensuring that social distancing and other norms are followed properly,” he said.

The Director said it was for the first time that almost one dozen international flights bringing back stranded Kashmiris have arrived at Srinagar airport ever since outbreak of COVID19.

“These included special flights under Vande Bharat Mission of government of India and other charter flights. We had flight from Bangladesh, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan. We expect more overseas charter flights in days to come,” he said.

As per officials, the set protocol for air travellers coming from Jammu to Srinagar via air does not include any COVID19 testing at Srinagar airport.

However, these persons have to remain under home quarantine for four days after arrival.

People travelling from any other city in the country to Srinagar via air have to undergo testing at the airport followed by administrative or hotel quarantine till their test report comes out.

For foreign air travelers, there is mandatory one week administrative/hotel quarantine irrespective of test report, another official said.

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