No direct Hajj flights from Srinagar this year

Srinagar: What has triggered concern in public circles, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has this year again failed to ensure direct Hajj flights from the Srinagar “International” Airport.
In June this year, the State’s Civil Aviation Department had asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to revive the direct Hajj flights in the wake of inconvenience that the pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir face while making a stopover at Delhi before boarding the onward flight to Jeddah—a request that has not been acceded to, as on date.
A New Delhi-based newspaper Thursday reported that for the second year in a row, foreign carriers Saudi Airlines and NAS Air have won the global tender to fly the pilgrims by bidding the lowest fare of $1,200 per passenger. Air India had quoted almost $ 2,000 a passenger.
With the national carrier losing the bid, it has come as a bad news for pilgrims from J&K especially in the wake of reports that foreign airlines are barred from carrying out operations from the Srinagar airport even though it has been designated as an international airport. This means that there will be no direct flights to Saudi Arabia from the Valley — an issue which has deeply upset the pilgrims.
While the Civil Aviation Ministry has reportedly approached the Union Home Ministry to allow the Saudi-Arabian airline—NAS Air—to fly pilgrims directly from Kashmir, sources said the chances were bleak “and the only way out was to ensure that the contract is awarded to the national carrier.”
At least 8000 pilgrims from J&K are scheduled to go for the holy pilgrimage this year. And for them, the news of indirect flights has come as a shocker.
06/10/11 Greater Kashmir

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Categories: airports Oct 2011, Foreign Oct 2011