Some years ago an important decision was taken about conversion of Srinagar airport into an international airport with the view that international flights could land or take off from it. The decision was taken in the light of giving a boost to the tourist industry of Kashmir. Additionally, owing to great rush of passengers to and from Srinagar; authorities felt that Srinagar airport needed to be expanded and made functional for night services also. All airports in the country come under the control of Airport Authority of India. Expansion of an airport or addition and alterations in its services and everything pertaining to an airport has to have the clearance from the Airport Authority of India.
In order to make night flights operational from Srinagar airport, the main difficulty was the green signal from the Indian Air Force. Srinagar is a sensitive airport and as we know, its importance has been enhanced by the armed insurgency going on in the valley for two decades and half in the past. Therefore from security point of view, green signal from the Air Force was a pre-requisite. Fortunately now the Air Force has conveyed clearance and along with that the Airport Authority of India has followed suit. So the stage is set for the air flights to take off late at night till 10 PM. We need to keep in mind the busy schedule of the airport of Srinagar, and as such, this step would go a long way in providing easement to the passengers who would like to finish their work in the day and return or leave at late night. In the sector of tourism also, this will be an additional facility. We welcome the decision of the AAI for taking a bold and historical decision. However, we would like to emphasize on the AAI to provide more facilities at Srinagar airport because statistics show the number of passengers to and from Srinagar is on the increase. One glaring deficiency is that there is no regular bus service between the airport and the main destination in the city, say Lal Chowk. We would prefer if the Government plans to build metro between the airport and the city of Srinagar.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel