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Air India conducts test flight at Kangra airport

Just as the summer tourist season has started picking up in the resorts of Himachal Pradesh, here is a gift for hospitality industry from Air India - the flag carrier airline will start regular flights to Kullu and Dharamsala from Wednesday, almost eight months after the closure of the airport.

Updated on: May 14, 2013, 19:38:14 IST
None | By , Dharamsala
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Just as the summer tourist season has started picking up in the resorts of Himachal Pradesh, here is a gift for hospitality industry from Air India - the flag carrier airline will start regular flights to Kullu and Dharamsala from Wednesday, almost eight months after the closure of the airport.


To and fro Delhi-Dharamsala flights will resume from Wednesday, Kangra director, Gaggal airport, Kuldeep Sharma said.
"On Tuesday, Air India test flew its 48-seater aircraft at the airport," said Sharma. Likewise, Air India is starting its regular flight between Delhi and Kullu, near picturesque resort Manali, from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, urban development minister Sudhir Sharma said private aviation company - SpiceJet - will also be starting its regular flights from Delhi to Dharamsala.

"The aviation company is awaiting approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviations (DGCA) to operate in the state," said Sharma.

The flight will depart from New Delhi at 9.45am and land at the Gaggal airport at 11.15am. It will leave for New Delhi from Gaggal the same day at 11.35am and will land there at 1.05pm.

Spice Jet had announced to operate two regular flights between Kangra and New Delhi via Chandigarh in the first week of April. The airliner had even conducted a trial landing of 72- seater aircraft at the Kangra airport on February 17 and had been allotted space to set up its counter by the airport authorities at Kangra.

However, the private airliner had failed to keep the promise for unknown reasons and the flights remained suspended to Dharamsala.

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  • Naresh K Thakur
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Naresh K Thakur

    Naresh K Thakur is a staff reporter in Hindustan Times’ Himachal bureau. Based at Dharamshala, he covers Tibetan affairs, local politics and environmental issues.

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