Ludhiana-Delhi flight to resume after 2.5 years, Centre gives approval

Nitin Jain

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Ludhiana, January 28

In a major development aimed at giving wings to the industrial hub of the North, the Centre has agreed to resume direct flights from Ludhiana to Delhi.

The development assumes significance as the lone Ludhiana-Delhi flight had been suspended in August 2020 following which the locals, especially industrialists, were forced to either travel by road or take flight to Delhi from Mohali.

Besides, resuming the flight to Delhi, more domestic flights from Ludhiana to different destinations were also on the anvil. This was conveyed by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia to Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora.

Sharing the letter received from Scinida, Arora, who had been demanding the resumption of domestic flight operations from Ludhiana since long, said the resumption of direct flight from Ludhiana to Delhi would not only promote the trade and industry, but would also facilitate the residents of both the cities to travel more frequently in lesser time.

Acceding to the MP’s request, the Union Minister wrote that the UDAN route between Hindon and Ludhiana has been awarded to M/s Big Charters with a 19-seater aircraft under UDAN 4.2 bidding round, which would commence operation in the summer.

Scindia further stated that with the repeal of Air Corporation Act in March 1994, the Indian domestic aviation was deregulated for commercial flight operations.

“It is, therefore, up to the airlines to provide air services to specific places depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability subject to compliance with the extant guidelines in this regard,” he informed.

However, the Union Civil Aviation Minister added that the MP’s request for resuming domestic flight operations from the Ludhiana airport had been shared with all scheduled domestic airlines for consideration.

Suspended in 2020

The Ludhiana-Delhi-Ludhiana flight, which commenced operations on September 1, 2017, was discontinued by the operator on August 31, 2020