New Delhi: Lobbyists for direct nonstop flights between London and Amritsar have hailed the new thrice weekly flights between Stansted and the holy city launched to coincide with the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev but are still keen on direct flights between Amritsar and Heathrow.
British Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who lobbied for the re-introduction of London-Amritsar route, told TOI, “The flights operating between London Stansted and Amritsar is welcome news. I’m grateful to Air India and the Indian government for having taken this decision. It’s been a long-standing issue for the Punjabi diaspora. But a direct Heathrow-Amritsar route would be best, since hundreds of thousands of Punjabi NRIs travelling from North America via London would be able to connect directly, not to mention the huge potential of religious and cultural tourism arising from the community surrounding Heathrow.”
His views were echoed by Sameep Singh Gumtala, Global Convener of FlyAmritsar Initiative and overseas secretary of NGO Amritsar Vikas Manch, the civil society non-governmental organisation working for the development of Amritsar and Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, chairman of the charity SEVA Trust UK. Both have campaigned for the London-Amritsar route for two years.
Gumtala travelled from the USA to Amritsar specially to fly on the inaugural flight from Amritsar to Stansted, which had 160 passengers, while Sekhon took the first flight from Stansted to Amritsar on October 31. “We would have got more passengers had the flight gone from Heathrow,” Gumtala said.
15/11/19 Naomi Canton/Times of India
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British Sikh MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who lobbied for the re-introduction of London-Amritsar route, told TOI, “The flights operating between London Stansted and Amritsar is welcome news. I’m grateful to Air India and the Indian government for having taken this decision. It’s been a long-standing issue for the Punjabi diaspora. But a direct Heathrow-Amritsar route would be best, since hundreds of thousands of Punjabi NRIs travelling from North America via London would be able to connect directly, not to mention the huge potential of religious and cultural tourism arising from the community surrounding Heathrow.”
His views were echoed by Sameep Singh Gumtala, Global Convener of FlyAmritsar Initiative and overseas secretary of NGO Amritsar Vikas Manch, the civil society non-governmental organisation working for the development of Amritsar and Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, chairman of the charity SEVA Trust UK. Both have campaigned for the London-Amritsar route for two years.
Gumtala travelled from the USA to Amritsar specially to fly on the inaugural flight from Amritsar to Stansted, which had 160 passengers, while Sekhon took the first flight from Stansted to Amritsar on October 31. “We would have got more passengers had the flight gone from Heathrow,” Gumtala said.
15/11/19 Naomi Canton/Times of India
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