Srinagar: The business community in Kashmir as well as the travellers have demanded resumption of the Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight, which started operations on October 21 last year, but has witnessed frequent cancellations in the recent past and as a result the flight as per tour travel stakeholders and its passengers is “grounded now.”
A cursory look at various travel portals shows that the Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight is not scheduled for most of the days in February. However, on some travel portals, the flight is scheduled for a few days of the month.
The travel agents in Srinagar whom Greater Kashmir spoke to said there has been a trend of late that closer to the date of departure, “the flight gets cancelled abruptly.”
“If any airline has to operate a flight they need to book slots with the concerned airport authority. However, this flight operated under an air bubble agreement between India and UAE.
Hence even when the routine international flights were not operating the Srinagar to Sharjah flight was operating as a part of the air bubble,” said a travel agent, wishing not to be named.
He said 180 seats were the total occupancy on the Srinagar-Sharjah flight and the flight was operating successfully till January 21 this year. However, after the outbreak of Omicron, the occupancy rates dropped drastically and as a result, the flight is now witnessing cancellations at the last moment.
“One can say this flight is just for namesake now and its presence on travel portals is merely symbolic,” the travel agent said.
“Although the flight is not operating, the concerned airline is first scheduling the flight and then cancelling it just one day prior to the departure date. This is quite unfair for travellers who wish to travel on this flight” said the travel agent.
Notably, the Srinagar-Sharjah flight was benefiting thousands of Kashmiris working or studying in the UAE as they were travelling on this direct service.
” The biggest benefit of the flight was that it saved one from travelling via Delhi, which also meant less exposure to crowds and hence safety from COVID. But unfortunately, the flight is now getting cancelled every now and then” said Aasim, a Kashmiri working in the UAE. ”My father was scheduled to travel to UAE but last moment he cancelled his tour as the direct flight is quite uncertain now and he does not want to travel in a connecting flight,” said Aasim.
A Srinagar-based travel agent, Muhammad Junaid Dar urged the authorities for resumption of the Srinagar-Sharjah flight.
“We did some brisk business and every local was getting benefitted by this direct flight. Not only was the airfare cheaper but the travel time was less and comfortable for the passengers” said Dar. “We urge for more international connectivity for other sectors,” he said.
Last month, when this newspaper did a story on the cancellation of the Srinagar-Sharjah flight, a GoFirst spokesman from Mumbai in a statement had said that the airline company has no plans to discontinue this service. Contrary to the claims of the airline company, the situation on the ground is completely different now, as this flight started with much fanfare is almost non-operational.
While a representative of GoFirst airline in Srinagar did not take calls from this reporter, a senior official of the Jammu and Kashmir government while replying to a query said the flight has been hit by COVID. “COVID has affected the load thus less than a certain number..airlines do not fly, even (in case of) domestic flights,”
Notably, after initially allowing the Srinagar-Sharjah flight to operate over its air space, the decision by Pakistan to refuse air space for the direct flight connecting Srinagar and Emirates has led to a detour of this direct service, which also led to costlier air tickets due to a longer route.
This Srinagar-Sharjah flight faced the first hiccup after Pakistan refused airspace to the airliner, forcing it to take a longer route.
Meanwhile, the trade community in Kashmir is disappointed by the cancellations of the Srinagar-Sharjah flight but hopes that the direct international flight “is a long term initiative and not just a cosmetic measure”. President, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Ashiq told Greater Kashmir that the direct flight from Srinagar to Sharjah was a long pending demand of Kashmir Inc adding that the authorities and the airline must ensure that the travellers from Kashmir to UAE don’t suffer.
“ The direct flight with minimum travel time has started benefiting Kashmiri travellers, especially students and business community to a great extent. We are hopeful that the flight will operate as it was initially” said Ashiq.
Musadiq Shah, vice-president of Kashmir Pashmina Organisation said people in general and the trade community in particular have been benefitted by the direct flight adding that apart from providing “the best possible route to this flight” there should be direct international flights connecting Srinagar to other overseas destinations.
“This will not just provide a boost to the travel community but those travelling to visit friends and relatives will also find it quite convenient to board this flight,” said Shah.
Shah who also heads the Kashmir Art Retailers in Dubai said the Srinagar-Sharjah flight with less travel time, was providing an impetus to tourist influx from the UAE to Kashmir.