Kullu-Shimla flight to resume on Oct 25

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, October 20

The operations of Alliance Air flight between Kullu and Shimla has been postponed due to adverse weather. The Alliance Air had announced to start its operations on October 11 but now it will resume on October 25.

Kullu Alliance Air Station Manager Amit Nanda said the newly inducted ATR-42 600 series aircraft would operate between Shimla and Kullu on four days — Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday — every week.

The flight is scheduled to depart at 7.55 am from Shimla and arrive in Kullu at 8.45 am. On the return journey, it will start at 9.05 am from Kullu and arrive at 9.55 am in Shimla. The flight will then depart for Delhi at 10.15 am, reaching at 11.25 am. Meanwhile, the flight between Kullu and Delhi is running according the schedule.

Traders in the district are expecting a boost in tourism activities after operations of both the flights will commence. The fare is also expected to soften. People involved in tourism industry said air connectivity between Dharamsala and Kullu should also be initiated so that high end tourists can complete the Shimla-Kullu-Dharamsala circuit.

Experts in the aviation industry said additional flights should be started from the Kullu airport as the demand had increased. They added that earlier, Vayudoot airlines used to operate three to four shuttle flights daily between Kullu-Chandigarh and Delhi.

They opined that Alliance Air should operate its fleet of Dornier-228 aircrafts, which was more economically feasible here. They said that the government should rope in other airlines to start operations in this sector to increase competition and boost the economy of the region.

They added that around six flights used to operate daily from the airport during 1980s and 1990s.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Kullu #Shimla