Amritsar airport takes off on new high - internationally

Amritsar's Rajasansi airport has taken off literally on a new high with dozens of international flights landing and flying out - mostly booked to capacity.
With over 80 departures during peak time a week, the airport here has come of its own, especially after 2005. Out of the over dozen airlines that operate from here, eight have international flights. Even during lean season (May-August), the departures never fall below 60 per week.
The total number of passengers handled by the airport here nearly touched 600,000 in 2006-07. Of these, 488,310 were international passengers while only 107,918 passengers were domestic ones.
Thanks to Punjab's ever-increasing population of NRIs and also the attraction of coming to the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines, Amritsar has emerged as a destination in its own might.
'Amritsar is the new destination for international travellers. With so many NRIs around and people wanting to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, this airport is bound to grow. People who were till now forced to go to Delhi for international flights can now easily board from here,' pointed out Amritsar-based builder Harvinder Pal Singh.
Compared to the number of passengers it was catering to just a decade ago - 22,190 in 1997-98 - Amritsar's flight plan took off in 2002-03 with over 178,000 passengers that year. In 2006-07, the passenger growth touched 596,228.
05/08/07 Jaideep Sarin/India eNews.com

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Categories: Airports Aug 2007