Friday, March 29, 2024
ADVT 
India

Air India To Resume Flights Over Pakistan After Airspace Re-Opens

Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Jul, 2019 08:23 PM

    With Pakistan reopening its airspace, national carrier Air India will resume flight operations on the Delhi-Kabul and the Lucknow-Najaf routes from August 5 and October 28, respectively, said Air India chief today.


    "As Pakistan airspace is now open, we will start the flights on the Delhi-Kabul route from August 5. The flights would run five days per week and we would open the ticket booking for them within one or two days," Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani said.


    "As the demand of flights on the Delhi-Kabul route is very high, we would make it a daily flight in the winter schedule," he added.


    Pakistan had shut its airspace on February 26 due to the Balakot air strike by the Indian Air Force, which resulted in a significant rise in Air India's operating costs on flights connecting north Indian cities and regions eastward of Pakistan.


    In March, Air India had suspended flights on the Lucknow-Najaf, Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham and the Delhi-Kabul routes.


    Pakistan opened its airspace on July 16.


    Mr Lohani said: "Flights on the Lucknow-Najaf route will start from October 28 this year. We will be operating A320 aircraft on this route."


    The tri-weekly Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham Air India flight would resume its services on August 15, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced last week.


    Mr Lohani said the national carrier would start operating a wide-body B787 aircraft on the Delhi-Singapore route in the winter schedule. Currently, the airline operates narrow-body aircraft A320 on this route.


    The national carrier lost Rs. 491 crore till July 2 due to the closure of the Pakistan airspace, according to data presented by Puri in the Rajya Sabha on July 3.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Man Arrested For Harassing Bengali Actress Arunima Ghosh On Social Media

    Acting on the complaint lodged by Arunima Ghosh, police arrested Mukesh Shaw, a resident of Garfa area in south Kolkata, late Sunday night, the officer said.  

    Man Arrested For Harassing Bengali Actress Arunima Ghosh On Social Media

    Will Decide On Navjot Singh Sidhu's Resignation Tomorrow: Amarinder Singh

    "I will decide on his resignation only tomorrow, after I return to Chandigarh. I will have to look into the contents of the resignation letter before taking a decision," Amarinder Singh said.  

    Will Decide On Navjot Singh Sidhu's Resignation Tomorrow: Amarinder Singh

    Punjab's Land Wars: How Dalit Landless Farmers Are Reclaiming Their Share of Land - VIDEO

    With 31.9% Dalits, Punjab has the highest proportion of SCs to its total population. However, their representation in landholdings in the state is far from proportional.

    Punjab's Land Wars: How Dalit Landless Farmers Are Reclaiming Their Share of Land - VIDEO

    Man Smashes 19-Year-Old Girlfriend's Head After Suspecting Her 'Character': Cops

    According to the official, Ashraf Sheikh has "confessed" that he killed Khushi Parihar because he suspected her so-called character and "closeness" with some men.

    Man Smashes 19-Year-Old Girlfriend's Head After Suspecting Her 'Character': Cops

    Navjot Sidhu Sends Resignation To Capt Amarinder Singh

    Ending speculation, Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday sent his resignation to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder singh at his official residence in Chandigarh.

    Navjot Sidhu Sends Resignation To Capt Amarinder Singh

    Power Situation Precarious, Can’t Help If Navjot Sidhu Doesn’t Want To Do His Job: Capt Amarinder Singh

    Talking about the resignation of his cabinet colleague Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said he could not help if the power minister didn’t want to do his job.

    Power Situation Precarious, Can’t Help If Navjot Sidhu Doesn’t Want To Do His Job: Capt Amarinder Singh