Ludhiana's Sahnewal Airport resumes flights after 2-year hiatus

Punjab's Chief Minister, Bhagwant Singh Mann, marked the resumption of air travel from Ludhiana's Sahnewal Airport after a hiatus of more than two years by flagging off the Hindon-Ludhiana-Hindon flight. To entice passengers, the CM announced an introductory fare of just ₹999 for travel from Ludhiana to the National Capital Region (NCR) for the initial three months.

Although the flight schedule may undergo changes, the current plan is for the flight to arrive from Hindon at 2.30 pm on the following day, departing at 8.30 am. Amardeep Nehra, the director of Sahnewal Airport, mentioned that while the schedule for the next two days is set, the timings are being finalized.

The flight operations will be managed by M/s Big Charter Private Limited Company under the banner of Fly Big Airlines. Initially, the flight will operate five days a week, with plans to extend its operation to seven days a week from the following month.

The aircraft in service is a 19-seater twin otter, known for its capability to take off and land on short runways, making it suitable for various terrains.

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Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and state support

CM Mann announced that the state government would cover the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for all 19 tickets on the flight. Each seat will receive VGF gap funding of ₹11,829 per ticket for one-way travel, with the state contributing 20%, amounting to ₹2,366 per seat.

CM Mann also highlighted future developments in the state's aviation sector. He mentioned that Adampur's air terminal is ready for operations, with SpiceJet planning daily flights from Adampur to Nanded, Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, and Bengaluru in the next two months. Star Alliance will also initiate a daily flight from Adampur to Hindon in the same timeframe. Additionally, daily flights will soon resume from Bathinda to Delhi and Bathinda to Hindon Airport by Alliance Air and Fly Big, respectively.

Furthermore, the CM revealed plans for flights from Sahnewal Airport to Delhi through Alliance Air under the RCS-Udaan Scheme in the next two months. Halwara Airport is also slated to become operational soon.

Technical issue leads to flight cancellation

Despite the launch excitement, the flight from Sahnewal to Hindon, scheduled for 11.10 am on September 7, was abruptly canceled. This unexpected development left several passengers, including hotelier Harjinder Singh Kukreja, in a challenging situation. Kukreja had booked a ticket from Ludhiana to Hindon and then onward to Dehradun, only to find out about the cancellation after contacting FlyBig's helpline. Airport director Amardeep Nehra attributed the cancellation to technical issues stemming from the resumption of operations after a two-year hiatus.

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