Tour trade, flyers welcome ‘no flight cancellation’ announcement at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar, Nov 22: The recent announcement by the Srinagar International Airport Director, stating that its runway has been upgraded to an extent that low visibility will not hamper flight operations has been welcomed by tourism trade stakeholders. Besides, frequent travellers have also heaved a sigh of relief as flight cancellations owing to extreme weather is a common occurrence during the winter months.

Notably, at the 14th General Meeting & Tourism Promotion Event of Tourist Trade Interest Guild in Srinagar on Friday, Javed Anjum, Director, Srinagar International Airport, told reporters that the runway at the airport has been upgraded to the Instrument Landing System Category-2 ( ILS-2), which essentially means that even in low visibility, a flight can make landing.

“Earlier we had a provision in place, wherein a flight could land only when the visibility would be 1200 metres or more. Soon this was brought down to 1000 metres. But now we have upgraded ILS which means a flight can land even if the visibility is just 400 metres or above,” said Anjum.

Anjum said the upgradation of the runway was completed in 2024, the results of which were seen even during last winter, when most of the flight cancellations took place in January due to the snowfall. “ We had very few cancellations due to poor visibility last winter. Even this winter we expect to bring down the cancellation rate to as low as possible,” said Anjum.

Welcoming this development, Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President, Javed Tenga said flight cancellations, which often leads to skyrocketing airfares and causes inconvenience to air travellers, must be fully addressed. Tenga said during several meetings of the Airport Advisory Committee, KCCI has time and again raised the issue of flight cancellations at the Srinagar Airport due to poor visibility and extreme weather conditions.

“If the upgradation of the runway is done to an extent that we won’t have flight cancellations, it is good news. It will save both locals and tourists from the ordeal of facing inordinate delays,” said Tenga. He said flight operations should take place till as late as possible, adding that during winters the airlines often curtail late afternoon or evening flights .

Chairman Hoteliers Club, Mushtaq Chaya said the tourism sector, which has suffered badly in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack is expected to see a somewhat better visitor influx in winters, adding that flights to more cities across India as well as measures such as enhancing flight operations by reducing the cancellations was a welcome move.

“ We welcome this step and hope it proves to be beneficial for the tourism sector which has received a huge blow after the Pahalgam attack,” said Chaya.

Tariq Ghani, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industries Kashmir (CCIK) said the tour trade welcomes the announcement of an upgraded runway at the Srinagar Airport. Ghani said both locals and tourists will be hopeful that air traffic operations to Srinagar are not affected by the foggy conditions, particularly during the months of December. A representative of a domestic airline told Greater Kashmir that the Airports Authority of India ( AAI) has sought landing and takeoff details from them, so that modalities with regard to an improved runway are completed.