Chandigarh-Sharjah flight to be discontinued from Oct 27

The move comes as a big blow to Chandigarh airport’s ambition of becoming a truly world-class international airport

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 25

The Chandigarh-Sharjah flights from Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, is set to be discontinued from October 27, SBSIA CEO Rakesh Ranjan Sahay said. The thrice-a-week flight, with 360 available seats (180+180), was much in demand with the people of this region but the airline has chosen to discontinue it for inexplicable reasons. Sources said there has been no information on whether the flight would resume later or not.

“We have sent an email to the airlines requesting them not to discontinue the flight as it is a popular destination from here but the final decision rests with the airlines only. The daily flight to Dubai will continue as usual,” Sahay said.

The move comes as a big blow to the Chandigarh airport’s ambition of becoming a truly world-class international airport. Despite region’s overwhelming demand for international flights from here, the airport’s connectivity to two international destinations has now been reduced to just one (Dubai). For the past many years, Chief Ministers and the Union Minister of Civil Aviation have been batting for enhanced connectivity of the airport to the international destinations but the latest development has dashed the hopes of flyers.

The new winter schedule will be operational at SBSIA from October 29, with more or less no change in the number of flights or destinations. Officials said the daytime flights will operate as usual with slight variations in the early morning and evening hours. A few new airlines have added this sector in their itinerary. On an average, daily 49 flights will be operational in the winter schedule slots approved by DGCA.