Govt mulling night flights in J&K

Jammu: In a bid to give a boost to tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, the government is contemplating having night flights in New Delhi-Srinagar-Jammu sector. The proposal for night flights in New Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar sector was discussed at a high-level meeting held here yesterday between state and central officials led by Union Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth.

According to a senior state government official, during the meeting, it was felt that flights should be operated till 10 PM. He said though the proposal is still under discussion, there was positive signal from the central team. "It was a good indication from the central team, there was positive signals," the official said. However, he said no talks have been held with airlines on the issue so far. Extension of the flights till 10 PM would increase the inflow of high-end tourists and Golf lovers to the state, the official said. In the meeting it was discussed that facilities including night landing set-up should be put in place before the approval of the proposal for the night flights. State Tourism Minister G A Mir said the night flights will give a boost to tourism in the state. He said the government will also appeal to the Centre for the commencement of direct flights from cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad from where a large number of tourists visit the state. "There is not only need to increase the number of the flights to Kashmir Valley but also commence direct flights from Mumbai, Ahmedabad and other metro cities to the Valley," Mir said. The extension of air services to Kargil from Jammu and Srinagar and subsidising the cost of the tickets to passengers ferrying in and out of Kargil were also discussed in the meeting. Air Mantra had already launched its air service last year to Kargil but due to high cost of the tickets there had been demands to subsidise the fare. While Srinagar Airport is currently operating 22 flights and a schedule of 32 flights a day had recently been approved, 18 flights operate from Jammu. PTI