IndiGo to operate flight from Kangra's Gaggal airport by March-end

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, February 6

The Gaggal airport in Kangra district will witness six flights daily, making it the busiest airport in the state.

IndiGo will start operating a flight from Gaggal from March. Already, Spice is operating three flights daily while Air-India two flights from the airport.

Airfares may come down

IndiGo will be the third airlines to operate from the Gaggal airport. With the number of flights increasing to six a day, air fares are likely to come down. Besides, it will also increase the tourist inflow to Kangra Nipun Jindal, DC, Kangra

The Gaggal airport is the busiest airports. The demand for its expansion has been raised since long. The airport strip is 1,372 metre and can only accommodate small 70-seater planes. As only small planes can land here, the airfare is among the highest in the country. It touches as high as Rs 21,000 for one way trip from Dharamsala to Delhi in the peak season.

Despite the fact that the state government is patting its back after the 15th Finance Commission recommended Rs 400 crore for the its expansion, the project is still just an idea. An amount of Rs 400 crore may not be enough for even the land acquisition for the project.

In survey reports sent to the state government by revenue officials of Kangra, about 40 hectares are required for its expansion. The revenue officials had estimated that about Rs 500 crore might be required for the acquisition of land.

CM Jai Ram Thakur had stated that the government was lobbying with the Union Ministry of Finance for a grant for its expansion and the development of a new airport in Mandi district. However, insiders in government said had the government pushed for the expansion of the Gaggal airport, it might have got an adequate grant from the Union government. However, now that the grant would be divided into two projects, it might delay these.