(a) whether the people are facing a lot of inconvenience due to non-plying of night flights from Srinagar International Airport and a proposal to start late night flights from the said airport is pending with the DGCA;
(b) if so, the time by which the night flights will be made operational from there;
(c) if not, the reasons for the delay; and
(d) whether the Sheikh-ul-Aalam Airport at Srinagar has a status of International Airport, if so, the time by which it will be made fully operational?
The Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Jayant Sinha)
(a) to (c): Srinagar Airport belongs to Indian Air Force (IAF) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) maintains a Civil Enclave at this Airport. All the infrastructure required for operation of night flight is available at the airport, however, no airline has expressed its interest to operate at night from the airport.
(d): Yes, Madam. Srinagar airport is an International Airport with all the standard facilities required for international flight operations. Indian carriers are free to mount air services from any point in India to foreign destinations as per the respective bilateral air service agreements. However, actual operations are guided by traffic demand and commercial judgment of the airlines.