Airlines free to start Chandigarh-Nanded flights, Centre informs Lok Sabha

The Centre has informed Parliament that airlines are free to introduce direct flights between Chandigarh and Nanded in Maharashtra, but has not announced any proposal or timeline for the long-pending air link sought by Sikh pilgrims travelling to Takht Sri Hazur Sahib.

Replying to a starred question by AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang in the Lok Sabha, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said route selection rests entirely with airlines under the country’s deregulated aviation regime, making the launch of the service dependent on operational and commercial viability rather than government intervention.

“With the repeal of the Air Corporations Act in March 1994, Indian domestic aviation has been deregulated. Airlines are free to induct capacity with any aircraft type and select markets and networks they wish to serve based on operational and commercial viability,” the minister said in a written reply.

Malvinder Singh Kang, the MP from Anandpur Sahib, which includes parts of Mohali, had asked whether the government proposed to introduce direct or convenient air connectivity between Chandigarh and Nanded in view of the large number of pilgrims travelling to the historic Sikh shrine. He also sought to know whether any formal proposal for the route was pending with the ministry.

However, the Centre neither confirmed receiving such a proposal nor indicated that it was examining the route separately, effectively leaving the decision to airlines.

The minister said passengers currently travel beween Chandigarh and Nanded through connecting flights via intermediate hubs, as no direct service is available.