With road and rail infrastructure severely impacted due to the recent floods, travellers to and out of Himachal are increasingly opting for air travel.
Those associated with the travel industry say that flight queries have increased over the past few weeks.
Himachal Pradesh tourism stakeholders’ association president, Mohinder Seth, says, “The closure of the Kalka-Shimla highway for almost a week and suspension of railway services on the Shimla-Kalka heritage track till August 26 have spurred the demand for air travel.”
Also Read | Himachal will take at least 2 years to re-build; hope Centre helps fast: CM Sukhu
RP Singh, an official at Kullu’s Bhuntar airport, reveals, “Most of the queries are coming from officials or businessmen looking to fly to Delhi.”
He further said that due to a limited number of flights and seats within the flights, they are facing a lot of challenges.
Himachal has three airports — Kangra Airport at Gaggle, Bhuntar Airport in Kullu, and the Shimla airport. The Shimla airport operates two flights a day — an ATR 42 aircraft of Alliance Airways and an 18-seater Pawan Hans chopper to Chandigarh. The two flights, however, are able to take off only with half their seating capacity due to turbulence issues.
Kangra Airport is the busiest, operating five to six flights a day. Additionally, it also facilitates three flights between Shimla and Dharamshala every week.
Also Read | Himachal CM Sukhu meets PM Modi, calls for flood aid
The Bhuntar airport operates one flight daily and also has a Pawan Hans chopper operating between Delhi, Chandigarh, and Bhuntar.
Seth, meanwhile, reveals, that the disrupted road and rail connectivity have also adversely impacted tourism. “Hotel occupancy in Shimla and Manali is not more than 1% at present,” he says while making a case for more flights to and from the state.
To meet the growing demand, there is an ongoing proposal to expand Kangra Airport by increasing the runway length from the existing 1,372 meters to 3,010 meters.
The current shorter runway restricts landings to 72-seater aircraft with airlines operating flights at a load penalty, carrying 10-15% less passengers, leading to higher airfares. A longer runway would enable larger aircraft like the Airbus 320 to land, significantly enhancing connectivity to other parts of the country and reducing travel costs on this route.
Also Read | Signs of monsoon weakening in Himachal, 55% rain deficit in 1st week of August
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who was recently in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had also met Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, seeking to construct an airfield in Rangrik in the remote Spiti valley, close to the China border, for both military and civilian use.A