Punjab: RS member Rajinder Gupta seeks expansion of int’l flights at Mohali airport
With no direct long-haul options from Mohali, students, professionals and families are forced to travel to Delhi or Amritsar, increasing cost, time and congestion.
During Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Rajinder Gupta pressed for urgent expansion of international flight connectivity from Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali. He said that despite being one of North India’s most modern airports—handling nearly 10,000 passengers daily and equipped to manage 4.5 million annually—its international operations remain minimal, with only two routes to Dubai and Abu Dhabi and just nine weekly international movements.
Gupta stressed that the airport serves a catchment area of over 60 million people across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, including a large NRI population with high travel demand to destinations such as the UK, US, Canada, Singapore, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. With no direct long-haul options from Mohali, students, professionals and families are forced to travel to Delhi or Amritsar, increasing cost, time and congestion.
He said direct flights to hubs like London, Toronto and Singapore would greatly ease travel and boost the region’s economic and strategic profile, especially as the tricity has become a centre for IT, business, MICE activity, medical tourism and start-up growth.
Gupta noted that Mohali airport is among the best AI-managed airports in India, boasts a top ASQ score of 5, and is fully capable of handling more international traffic. Chandigarh’s strategic military importance, he added, further strengthens the need for better global connectivity.
He urged the government to swiftly conduct a route-viability audit, upgrade terminal and customs processes, secure wider operational windows and incentivise airlines to launch priority routes to Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.
