Four months on, Bathinda airport operates lone flight to Delhi
Former Union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been regularly pushing for better connectivity from the airport
For more than four months, the Bathinda airport at Virk Kalan village has been operating just one flight to and from Delhi, and that too only four days a week.
Notably, the airport, the lone aviation facility in the southwest region of the state, was inaugurated in 2016 adjacent to the Air Force Station at Bhisiana to facilitate socio-economic development under the Centre government’s regional connectivity scheme, Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN).
Earlier, the flight operated daily, but with the implementation of the winter schedule, it was reduced to four days a week. The other flight to Hindon airport in Ghaziabad was suspended on September 26 last year after the company – FlyBig – operating it was taken over by another company.
Earlier, the flight to Jammu, which used to operate five days a week, was withdrawn in 2019. It was mostly used by pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and the Amarnath shrine.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport remained shut and reopened after a gap of over three years.
Former Union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal has been regularly pushing for better connectivity from this airport.
Airport officials also believe there is strong potential, and flights to Jammu, Nanded Sahib and Ayodhya can be started from here.
“Alliance Air’s Bathinda-Delhi and Delhi-Bathinda flights have over 90 per cent occupancy on a regular basis. The maximum seating capacity is 72, but sometimes a 42-seater aircraft is operated. Not just businessmen and politicians, doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Army officers often use this airport,” they said.
However, they said they were unaware of when the Ghaziabad flight would be resumed. Meanwhile, the condition of the road leading to the airport was poor, with big potholes at some turns and muddy patches.
Some locals said farmers were removing dunes from their lands to make them suitable for agricultural purposes, and heavy vehicles plying on the road have damaged them. Airport officials said they would speak to the local panchayat and the district administration in this regard.
Some residents said the authorities should advertise the airport as a large number of people are still unaware of the flight schedule and the location.
