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Chandigarh airport: Sharjah, Dubai flights to resume in October
Flights to Sharjah and Dubai will operate from Chandigarh International Airport under air bubble arrangement between India and UAE
With India formalising air bubble arrangements with 18 countries, flights to Sharjah and Dubai will resume from the Chandigarh International Airport in the first week of October.
An air bubble is a special bilateral agreement between two countries to enable seamless travelling with scheduled flights and a set of regulations and restrictions. Among other countries, India has signed the agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Both international flights will be resumed in the first week of October,” confirmed Ajay Bhardwaj, chief executive officer, Chandigarh International Airport Limited, on Monday. However, the frequency and timings are still to be worked out.
Flights to Sharjah and Dubai in the UAE were launched in 2016 after the Chandigarh airport got the international tag. While the Sharjah flight was operating twice a week, the Dubai one flew on all days but Sunday.
The pandemic grounded these flights in March last year. Thereon, scheduled flights from Dubai remained cancelled, though arrivals continued to bring any stranded citizen. In the case of Sharjah, operations resumed in December, but were discontinued once again due to the second wave in March this year.
New flights on cards
Chandigarh will also get direct connectivity to Jodhpur and Ranchi next month. The airport will resume flights to Jammu and Patna too.
“We are also adding direct flights to Jodhpur and resuming Jammu and Patna flights. After a halt at Patna, the flight will depart to Ranchi and will cover both cities. The new flights have been added in the winter schedule, which will be released in the second week of October,” said Bhardwaj.
IndiGo had started the direct flight between Patna and Chandigarh in March last year, but it was grounded soon after. The operations resumed in January this year, but had to be suspended once again in March. Set to resume again, the flight will operate six days a week.
”Due to Covid-19 restrictions, some airlines have reduced their flights. At present, there are 30 flights operating from the airport, with a footfall of around 6,500 per day, at both the departure and arrival. In the winter schedule, we are expecting around 36 flights,” said Bhardwaj.
Before the lockdown, there were around 44 flights operating from the Chandigarh airport, connecting it to major cities across the country besides Sharjah and Dubai.
Dharamshala, Srinagar flights delayed on Monday
The flights to and from Dharamshala and Srinagar were delayed due to operationals reasons at the Chandigarh International Airport on Monday.
The Dharamshala flight’s departure was delayed by two hours, as it took off at 10:33 am instead of 8:30 am. It led to a delay in the return flight too.
Meanwhile, the Srinagar flight operated by GoAir was also delayed by 25 minutes.
