Dream of international flights from Srinagar airport still on hold

Srinagar: More than two years after Srinagar airport was opened to international flights, the project has failed to take off as there is no traffic from the world’s major cities to Kashmir.

The only international passengers at the Srinagar airport are those flying out for the annual Hajj pilgrimage on domestic carriers.

In October 2021, the government started international airline operations at Srinagar International Airport to re-establish direct aviation service between the UAE and Srinagar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had inaugurated the Srinagar-Sharjah Go-First previously GoAir flight at the airport.

However, after Pakistan disallowed flights, taking off from Srinagar International Airport for Sharjah, from flying its airspace, the flights operation became difficult for the airlines to sustain.

As per a document, the aviation ministry cited the economic viability of the route and other associated factors as the main reason behind the non-operation of international flights.

The flight got an hour and a half longer as planes had to fly to Sharjah via Udaipur and Ahmedabad and overfly Oman. The flight service was halted on March 27, 2022, as the airline also filed for bankruptcy before the National Company Law Tribunal.

Director of Srinagar airport Javed Anjum said the flight service couldn’t operate as there were not enough bookings. “It was difficult for the airlines to sustain the flight operation as there were few bookings in the sector. Passenger availability was a major concern for the airline,” he said.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) does not expect any foreign carrier flying in and out of Srinagar till FY26.

Despite successive announcements by authorities, airlines have shown no interest in international flights from the airport and some of the major reasons include lack of traffic, geopolitical issues with Pakistan and Delhi being used as a gateway to Kashmir.

An airline executive told DH that there was not enough direct traffic from Srinagar to justify the cause of a direct flight. “The cost of operations are high as Pakistan doesn’t allow flights originating from Srinagar to use its airspace,” he said.