Amritsar airport worst performer

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 7

Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport has been listed as the top loss-making airport in the country by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

Latest data, released by the AAI, pegged its loss at Rs50 crore per year. The airport has been incurring losses for several years. The situation aggravated after several airlines discontinued international flights.

The Singapore Airlines had launched thrice-a-week Amritsar-Singapore flight on October 1, 2004. The service ran well for around five years before it was discontinued in early 2009.

The national carrier, Air India, discontinued its Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flight, which used to witness over 90 per cent occupancy, on October 31, 2010.

The British Midland International (BMI) pulled out its Amritsar-Almaty-London flight in October 2012. Later, Jet Airways launched Amritsar-London flight only to withdraw it after sometime.

Talking to The Tribune, airport advisory committee member APS Chatha said: “Amritsar hosts more than 35 million pilgrims annually. It is a preferred destination for the Punjabi diaspora and foreign tourists who come here to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple.” He lamented that the holy city had lost many significant air links over the years.

At present, Qatar Airways, Uzbekistan Airways, Turkmenistan Airlines and Air India are operating international flights from here.

Airport officials claimed that the losses would come down as Malindo Air had launched Kuala Lumpur-Amritsar flight and SpiceJet Dubail-Amritsar flight only couple of months ago. Two more international airlines may soon start operations from the holy city, they said.

The Union Government with an investment of about Rs150 crore has set up state-of-the-art infrastructure and established the airport building in consonance with the contemporary architecture.