Amritsar The Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport, Amritsar, will now be reconnected to its third city in Europe, Rome, from September 8. National carrier, Air India, will fly to the Italian capital under its Vande Bharat mission, with London and Birmingham already connected to the world famous holy city.
According to schedule that Air India has released, the flight AI123 will take off from Amritsar every Wednesday at 3.55pm, with arrival in Rome the same day at 8.20pm local time. The return flight AI122 will depart from Rome the next day, Thursday, at 7pm and reach Amritsar on Friday morning at 5.35am. The bookings will remain open till October 28, which is the end of summer season in airline industry. Air India will operate its Boeing 787 Dreamliner on this route.
Sameep Singh Gumtala, global convener, FlyAmritsar Initiative, said, “The resumption of this flight has resulted with Italy relaxing restrictions on passengers arriving from India. This is a big relief for thousands of Punjabis, who got stranded due Italy’s decision to ban direct flights April 2021.”
He added, “Those stranded had no other option, except to pay very high fares to travel via other countries, on regular or chartered flights, and complete quarantine requirements during the transit. This direct flight will now reduce cost, while also reducing travel time to seven-eight hours,” said Gumtala.
{{/usCountry}}He added, “Those stranded had no other option, except to pay very high fares to travel via other countries, on regular or chartered flights, and complete quarantine requirements during the transit. This direct flight will now reduce cost, while also reducing travel time to seven-eight hours,” said Gumtala.
{{/usCountry}}Yogesh Kamra, member of the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC), said, “Amritsar is India’s only airport, directly connected to two airports in the UK. With the resumption of Rome flight, it will be the only airport in India, after Delhi, to be connected to three cities in Europe.”
“Now, exporting perishable cargo needs to be a priority with the Punjab government and our farmers. The diaspora in the UK, Italy and other countries have a year-round demand for vegetables from the hinterland and this demand should benefit our local farmers. Air India and the district administration should set up a facility to source, sort and pack in-demand perishable vegetables and processed food,” he added.