Come April, Amritsar to Birmingham flight

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 10

After a gap of eight long years, national carrier Air India has announced to resume the Amritsar-Birmngham direct flight from April 1, 2017, meeting the demand of the diaspora in the United Kingdom.

Conveying the decision of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rajya Sabha MP Shwet Malik, who is also Aviation Consultative Committee member, said: “I conveyed the demand to the Union government, which rectified the mistake committed during the reign of the previous UPA government.”

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Malik accused the UPA of diverting this “extremely profitable flight from Amritsar to IGI in New Delhi to provide financial benefits to its private operator”. 

After Jet Airways discontinued its Amritsar-London flight on August 6, 2006, Air India filled the void with a Amritsar-Birmingham flight the same year. However, it lasted till October 24, 2009. 

In between, Air India launched its Amritsar-New Delhi-Birmingham flight on the hub and spoke model from Amritsar airport on August 1, 2013, with limited success. 

Subsequently, the growth of the Amritsar airport was hit as one after another flight was pulled out by different airlines. However, several lines have launched international flights this financial year.