E-Paper
In response to Jalandhar MP: Will discuss flight resumption to Adampur airport with airlines: Scindia
After a hiatus of more than one and a half years, air traffic at the Adampur airport, is likely to resume soon, as the Union Aviation Ministry has decided to begin deliberations with the airline companies for restoring the services.
After a hiatus of more than one and a half years, air traffic at the Adampur airport, is likely to resume soon, as the Union Aviation Ministry has decided to begin deliberations with the airline companies for restoring the services.
Responding to a question raised by Jalandhar member of parliament (MP), Santokh Singh Chaudhary in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, informed that the flights were stopped as the viability gap funding (VGF) period, which was for three years, had ended. The government would conduct a fresh round of bidding and will speak with the airlines for resuming operations from Adampur, Scindia added.
VGF support is a monetary assistance that is provided by Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to the airline operator to enable them to successfully run the routes.
Raising the query during the question hour, MP Chaudhary stated that the flight services operated by SpiceJet from Adampur were stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic, but even after one and a half years, the services were not resumed. “Before the Covid-19 pandemic began, three flight sectors from Adampur to Delhi, Mumbai, and Jaipur were operational under the Central government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN,” he said.
MP Chaudhary told the minister that Adampur airport is a very important airport of the Doaba region providing services to local people, including industrialists and non-resident Indians and the suspension of flights is causing immense inconvenience to them. “Its new terminal is also almost ready, but the flights were yet to resume,” he said.
