Flights from domestic airport in Adampur get delayed

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 8

Despite claims of Punjab BJP president and Union minister Vijay Sampla that SpiceJet would start booking tickets for flights between Adampur and Delhi from November 1, the flights at the newly commissioned domestic airport has further been delayed by a few months.

Presently, the airlines company has stalled its plan to commence its operations this year as the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is yet to grant his approval for the flights. Though the airlines have claimed that it is ready to commence its operation in the region while calling it a ‘good market’, Sampla has said it has shelved its plan presently due to its tussle over operating the flights from the Terminal 2 allocated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at the Indira Gandhi International airport.

“The airlines wanted to operate form the Terminal 1 while the AAI has asked it to operate the flights from the Terminal 2. The airlines is going to take up the matter with the AAI authorities at a meeting scheduled on Thursday,” said Sampla.

Meanwhile, the minister has also started holding talks with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to allow Air India Express to commence its flights from Adampur.

While there are presently six flights running between Delhi and Amritsar, none of the airlines operators have shown willingness to have a stopover at Adampur.

While Jet Airways is operating three flights between Amritsar and Delhi, Air India is also operating a flight between the two cities. Among the international airlines, Air Canada and Air France are also operating two flights in the region.

The small airstrip at the domestic airport in Adampur is not viable to allow big aircrafts for landing and take-off purposes.