NITN | @notintownlive | 21 Feb 2021, 08:00 am
Srinagar: The much-awaited night flight operations at the Srinagar International Airport are likely to begin next month provided the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gives its final approval.
Although, GoAir is already offering bookings on a Srinagar-Delhi night flight for March-end on its official website, the airport officials said the nod from the central aviation regulator DGCA is required before the Valley can witness its maiden night flight operations. When contacted, Director, Airports Authority of India, Srinagar, Santosh Dhoke confirmed that the plan for night flights was in the pipeline but added that “it was not finalised as the approval from DGCA is yet to be received”.
“We are hopeful to get the DGCA clearance in the next two weeks so that we can have the night flight operations,” Dhoke said.
Dhoke said that the night flight operations were expected to start in the summer schedule which comes into effect from March 27.
“At present we have watch hours (flying time) till 5:30 pm but we are hopeful that this will be extended to almost 8- 8:30 pm so that we can have the night flights,” Dhoke said.
A cursory look at its portal shows that GoAir is offering bookings for Srinagar-Delhi flights for March 29 with Srinagar departure at 8:30 pm and Delhi arrival at 10 pm.
A spokesperson of the airline said: “If the portal is showing the booking, then absolutely it (flight) has to be there”.
The airport authorities said Srinagar Airport is ready to kick-start night operations and now even airlines which were earlier not showing much interest have come forward with scheduled night flights.
“Everything is ready on the ground to start the night flights in terms of the infrastructure,” Dhoke said.
It may be mentioned that a successful trial run of a commercial aircraft during late evening hours was held at Srinagar on August 10, 2018 after which the Airport was declared as “technically suitable” for starting night flights.
The airlines which had opted for the night flight slots back then were GoAir, IndiGo and Air India.
However, AAI officials in the recent past have repeatedly said that the airline companies were not showing much interest in the night operations.
Earlier, an inspection team from the DGCA had visited the summer capital on January 22, 2018 for conducting an on-ground inspection to assess whether the airport was suitable for night flights.
(Image Credit: Pixabay)
- Bengaluru exhibition of early 20th century picture postcards delves into how the West viewed India
- Sustainability and wellbeing: Main focus areas at the World Congress on Snow, Mountain and Wellness Tourism
- Chicago paints the city green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
- The Carlton Tower Jumeirah London woos women guests with curated Suite Shopping Experience this International Women’s Day
- Eighth Bahrain Food Festival to be held in February this year
- City of the Taj Mahal gears up for its annual festival; revised dates of the Taj Mahotsav in Agra announced
- Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives woos couples with special Valentine’s Day offers
- UNWTO: Expects global tourism to recover to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 subject to pent-up demand, increased air travel and stronger Asian markets
- Not interested in mass tourism: Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma
- Kuda Villingili Maldives recognized as The Best Honeymoon Hotel 2023 by The White Awards
Tokyo: Airlines were forced to cancel over 300 flights following the collision between a Japan Coast Guard aircraft and a Japan Airlines passenger plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening even as reports said the plane was cleared to land ahead of the tragedy.
New Delhi/NITN: Regular flyers on Jazeera Airways, Kuwait’s low-cost carrier, can now avail a host of discounts and benefits by enrolling for the new membership club introduced by the airline, recently.
Gurugram: Air India, a global airline in India, has initiated the deployment of its recently acquired Boeing 777 aircraft to serve all three non-stop routes from Mumbai to the United States.