Air traffic from Ludhiana airport resumed on Wednesday after a gap of more than two years with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann inaugurating the flight from the industrial city to Hindon (Ghaziabad).
The CM announced an introductory offer of Rs 999 per ticket air travel at for the first three months of the resumption of the flights. He said initially the flight has been started for five days but it will be operationalised throughout the week from next month.
Mann said the air travel time of this flight will be 90 minutes to reach Hindonfrom Ludhiana and vice-a-versa. Big Charter Private Limited has been awarded a new route from Hindon to Ludhiana under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) scheme.
He said today this airline has started commercial operation on this route with 19 seater twin otter aircraft.
The CM said in order to provide cheap travel facilities to people the state government will bear the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) on all the 19 tickets. All the 19 seats will be provided with VGF gap funding of Rs 11,829 per ticket for one side journey adding that the state share will be 20 per cent (the Punjab government will pay Rs 2,366 per seat).
Mann said the one-sided basic Air fare by the airlines will be around Rs 2,000 per seat.
He said more flights will be soon started from other airports in the state to facilitate the passengers. He said the air terminal at Adampur is ready for operations and airline company SpiceJet will start a daily flight from Adampur to Nanded, Delhi, Goa, Kolkata and Bangalore in the next two months.
Mann said Star Alliance Company will also start daily one flight from Adampur to Hindon adding that in the coming two months daily flights will be started from Bathinda to Delhi and Bathinda to Hindon airport by Alliance Air and Fly Big company respectively.
The CM said flights will also start operating from Sahnewal Airport to Delhi Airport by Alliance Air Company in next two months under RCS-Udaan Scheme.
