Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched the first ever civil aviation service between Kargil and Jammu as he travelled to the frozen Ladakh township in a private company’s aircraft along with a number of his Ministerial colleagues and J&K Pradesh Congress chief and Rajya Sabha member Saif-ud-din Soz on Monday. The landing of Mantra Airlines’ 17-seater at Kargil created history as never before has a civil passenger aircraft been spotted there.
Kargil is one the world’s coldest towns, frozen under a minus 20 degree Celsius temperature. Air Mantra aircraft conducted a trial flight between Jammu and Kargil on November 3 last year.
The Indian Air Force has been operating an AN-32 aircraft three times a week in the Jammu-Kargil sector and once a week between Srinagar and Kargil. It carries 40 to 45 passengers. However, the service has been highly erratic, with passengers often complaining of cancellation of flights on flimsy grounds.
07/01/13 Ahmed Ali Fayyaz/The Hindu
