Omar for international flights from and to Srinagar

Srinagar: Terming connectivity as an important ingredient for facilitating inflow of tourists, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday strongly advocated operationalizing international flights by the Air India from and to Srinagar Airport.
“This would give fillip to the arrival of international tourist traffic to the Valley”, he said adding that Air India should not make the profitability its yardstick for operating international flights at Srinagar International Airport.
Underlining tourism as one of the major components in State’s economy, he expressed hope that tourism will pick up this season gradually to make good the losses incurred during the last three summer unrests.
“For us tourism is one of the major component of economy but it is uncertain in nature for various reasons”, he said citing the example of unrest in last three summers in the Valley and flash flood in Leh. He said that tourist inflow in the current season in Valley is comparatively lesser for these reasons. “We hope it will increase gradually during the coming days”, he added.
Addressing a Conference on ‘Jammu and Kashmir tourism the way forward’ organized by FICCI here in collaboration with Suri Hospitality, the Chief Minister stressed on FICCI and other such organizations to translate their brain storming sessions and conferences on tourism into actual roping in of investors in the State and playing an important role in the growth and development of the State.
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Omar Abdullah emphasized the need for facilitating tourists from South-East Asia, Middle-East and Singapore to visit the Valley by operating direct flights and rescheduling the flight timing from Delhi to Srinagar. “We have already taken up the matter with the Civil Aviation Ministry for operationalizing the time chart for Delhi-Srinagar flights where under the first flight from Delhi should reach Srinagar Airport at 7 a.m. and the last flight leaves from this place at 6 p.m.”, he said adding that it would greatly facilitate the inflow of tourists.
17/06/11 KashmirWatch

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Categories: Airports Jun 2011