`Runaway success’:  Go Air to operate 5 Srinagar-Sharjah flights a week 

SRINAGAR: Buoyed by the heavy rush, the Ministry of Civil Aviation today increased the frequency of Srinagar-Sharjah flights to five per week.

Currently, Go First operates two flights between Srinagar and Sharjah per week.

Go Air has been allowed to operate five Srinagar-Sharjah flights per week. “I am directed to convey the approval of competent authority for allocation of traffic rights to M/s Go Air on the Srinagar-Sharjah route,” said Anup Pant, undersecretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The flights will start in summer. “The allocation is granted by provisions contained under para 3.6 of AIC 10/2022 specifically for operating on Srinagar-Sharjah 3. The approval is subject to the carrier’s meeting another operating requirement as per relevant rules,” said Pant

Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight has been a runaway success. The flight was flagged-off by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 23, 2021. It was for the first time in 11 years that a direct flight to Sharjah started from Srinagar airport.

A month later in November, the flights hit a major roadblock after Pakistan denied the use of its airspace. Later the flights had to be rerouted to reach Sharjah.

Early this month, Srinagar airport set a new record by operating 102 flights per day.

Kashmir is presently witnessing a booming tourism season and around 1.8 lakh tourists visited the Valley in March alone last month. This is the largest number of tourists to have visited Kashmir in the last 10 years. officials are expecting a further increase in the footfalls in the coming months.

Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to operate late-night flights from Srinagar and Jammu airports.

Airport Authority of India has allowed night parking for A-320 NEO aircraft at Jammu and Srinagar airports, `Go Airlines’ will park one A-320 NEO aircraft each at Jammu and Srinagar airports. This is to ensure that late-night and early morning take-offs are hassle-free.