Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today inaugurated Srinagar-Sharjah international flight and said the move from the Centre will help in boosting tourism and bring more investment in Jammu and Kashmir.
He inaugurated the first direct international flight on the first day of his three-day visit to J&K.
He also announced the Policy on Helicopter Operations in J&K.
The first international flight from Srinagar airport left for Sharjah this evening with 159 passengers on board.
Director Airport Srinagar Kuldeep Singh said that the first flight took off to Sharjah this evening from Srinagar Airport after it was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister.
He said that the first flight departure to Sharjah started its journey at around 6:20 pm today and is expected to reach Sharjah at around 10 pm.
He said that the first flight was carrying 159 passengers and it will take around 4 hours to reach Sharjah.
The development is seen as a boon as it is expected to provide relief to hundreds of Kashmiri travellers who are working in the Middle East.
“It will save time and money in travelling to the Middle East,” said relatives of persons working in the Middle East, adding that they first had to reach Delhi and then to Sharjah.
He said that necessary arrangements were put in place and management of passengers in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The arrangements were meticulously executed which include the management and regulation of passengers, segregation of domestic and international passengers, conduct rapid PCR at Airport for international passengers besides mandatory RTPCR test before 48 hours.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
