Air traffic from Srinagar plies normally after 9 days

With an improvement in the weather, air traffic at Srinagar Airport plied normally on Sunday after remaining disrupted for nine days due to intense foggy conditions and snowfall.

The air traffic remained affected for nine straight days from December 7 to December 14.

While flights were cancelled for seven successive days (December 8 to 13) in view of poor visibility due to smoggy weather conditions on December 7 and December 14 only afternoon flights could operate.

A senior official said that all the flights operated from Srinagar airport on Sunday, bringing major respite to passengers.

Over 200 flights were cancelled due to inclement weather conditions in the last 10-days which has led to the skyrocketing of airfares from Srinagar.

Meanwhile, the Valley remained cut off from the rest of the country for the third consecutive day on Sunday as the Jammu-Srinagar national highway was hit by fresh landslides.

A traffic police official said that big landslides have hit the highway at various places, especially Digdol and Nashri.

“The NHAI has pressed men and machinery into service to clear the debris and snow. Most likely the highway will be reopened from Sunday morning,” he said.

The highway was closed for traffic on Thursday evening after heavy snowfall around the Jawahar Tunnel. Around 4,000 vehicles remain stranded at various places on the highway, the official said.

The MeT office has said that the weather, including visibility, is likely to improve from Monday.