Alliance Air resumes flights from Jubbarhatti airport

Alliance Air services have resumed flights from the Jubbarhatti airport, near Shimla, after a disruption of two days. “Following necessary maintenance checks, flight operations have been resumed,” said an official from the airlines.

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Alliance Air, which is the only airline to operate flights from this airport, had suspended its flights from the airport on March 24 after the Delhi-Shimla flight reportedly faced some issues while landing. As per Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who was on the flight, the aircraft faced some glitches while landing and reached nearly the end of the runway. Later, in the Vidhan Sabha, the Deputy Chief Minister had even said that the Centre should consider building airports and railway tracks for Himachal, which doesn’t have adequate resources for building such infrastructure.

According to officials, the airline faces operational constraints at the Jubbarhatti airport, which is not long enough and there’s just one parking bay for the aircrafts. “It means only one flight could land or take off at a given time from the airport. If the runway is longer and some additional facilities are added to the airport, other airlines could also start operations to Shimla in future. At present, Alliance Air operates a 48-seater ATR 42-600 aircraft to and from the airport. As per the officials, providing adequate infrastructure for robust air connectivity is tough in hilly areas.