Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport ,Amritsar,India
The
suspension of international commercial flights during the coronavirus induced
lockdown has revealed the full potential of the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee
International Airport in Amritsar.
As per recent traffic report released by
the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for April, Amritsar recorded a total of
5,972 international and domestic passengers, leaving behind all major airports
in India, except Delhi and Mumbai.
A complete suspension of flights in late
March left thousands of foreign nationals and residents stranded across
country, including Punjab. The biggest number of UK and Canada residents
stranded in India was recorded in Punjab. To repatriate its citizens, their
consulates in India arranged special chartered flights operated by leading
airline carriers, including the British Airways.
Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport ,Amritsar,India
Amritsar
handled the biggest number of flights from India to London’s Heathrow airport
by UK and by Canadian foreign office to Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal to fly
back Britons and Canadians. These overseas flights started in April and
continued to operate till mid-May.
Sameep Singh Gumtala, global convener of
the Fly Amritsar initiative, said, “The demand for direct repatriation flights
from Amritsar to UK and Canada was raised by stranded passengers with their
governments. This proves that majority of the international traffic at Delhi
airport from UK and Canada comes from Punjab.”
“Punjabi
diaspora prefer to travel directly from Punjab instead of Delhi, if more
international flights are started from Amritsar. The airport is within three-hour
reach from all major cities in Punjab and this distance will be reduced to half
after the completion of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway,” he said.
Yogesh Kamra, Fly Amritsar convener and
secretary Amritsar Vikas Manch, said the airport has all infrastructures to
handle traffic even during extreme crisis situations.
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