MASROOR AHMAD
SRINAGAR: More than two decades after the Srinagar Airport was opened for international flights, there is still no traffic from major cities of the world to the place known as ‘Paradise on Earth’.
The Srinagar Airport has only those international passengers, who leave for Haj on domestic flights.
In October 2021, the government started international airline operations at Srinagar International Airport to re-establish direct aviation service between the UAE and Srinagar. The Srinagar- Sharjah corridor was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. However, after Pakistan disallowed flights, taking off from Srinagar International Airport for Sharjah, from flying its airspace, the flights operation became difficult for the airlines to sustain.
As per a document, the Aviation Ministry cited the economic viability of the route and other associated factors as the main reason behind the non-operation of international flights. The flight got an hour and a half longer as planes had to fly to Sharjah via Udaipur and Ahmedabad and overfly Oman. The flight service was halted on March 27, 2022, as the airline also filed for bankruptcy before the National Company Law Tribunal.
According to the Director Srinagar Airport, the flight service couldn’t operate as there were not enough bookings. “It was difficult for the airlines to sustain the flight operation as there were few bookings in the sector. Passenger availability was a major concern for the airline,” he said.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) does not expect any foreign carrier flying in and out of Srinagar till FY26.
Despite successive announcements by authorities, airlines have shown no interest in international flights from the airport and some of the major reasons include lack of traffic, geopolitical issues with Pakistan and Delhi being used as a gateway to Kashmir.
The first international flight from Srinagar to Dubai was started in 2009 by Air India Express. However, the once-a-week service was discontinued due to ‘low demand’ by the authorities. Also facing regular weather disruptions, the airport doesn’t have an advanced instrument landing (ILS) that can allow low-visibility landing
An airline executive said that there was not enough direct traffic from Srinagar to justify the cause of a direct flight. “The cost of operations is high as Pakistan doesn’t allow flights originating from Srinagar to use its airspace,” he said.