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Conservatives push for direct Canada- Amritsar flight
The Conservative leader recently spoke at an event in Brampton with room full of people holding banners ‘Direct Flights to Amritsar Now’ and ‘Open the Skies to Amritsar’
The long-pending demand for direct flights between Canada and Amritsar has got a welcome boost with leader of opposition Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre announcing his campaign for starting direct flights between Canada and Amritsar.
The Conservative leader recently spoke at an event in Brampton with room full of people holding banners ‘Direct Flights to Amritsar Now’ and ‘Open the Skies to Amritsar’.
Poilievre said: “Punjabi Canadians have been calling on the federal government to deliver direct flights between Amritsar and Canada. But even after years of activism from the Punjabi community, the Liberal government has failed to fight gatekeepers and open the skies to Amritsar.”
In 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had signed a new Open Skies Agreement with India. Travellers wishing to go to Amritsar often have to wait additional seven hours once they arrive at an airport in India or endure an eight-to-10-hour drive to reach Punjab, said Poilievre.
He further added, “I, along with my deputy leader Tim Uppal, shadow minister Jasraj Singh Hallan and a group of other conservatives, are launching a full campaign to get the direct flight from Canada to Punjab, especially Amritsar, so that over a million Canadians who have their origins in that part of the world can fly directly from our country to that beautiful place.”
FlyAmritsar Initiative, an independent advocacy group working to promote better air connectivity to Amritsar for last one decade, has welcomed the announcement, saying Canada-Amritsar direct flights would immensely benefit the Punjabi diaspora.
Its global convener Sameep Singh Gumtala said, “The direct flights will not only benefit the Punjabi community but also provide an opportunity for Canadians to experience the rich culture and heritage of the region, including the holiest place for Sikhs -- the Golden Temple.”
Canada-based NRI activists Mohit Dhanju and Anant Singh Dhillon also thanked Poilievre and MP Uppal for their efforts and urged the Conservative Party leadership to continue reaching out to Canadian and Indian airline carriers.
