Amritsar-Toronto flight to remain grounded till Nov
Monday, 03/09/2012
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Amritsar : With no sign of resumption of the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight for at least another couple of months, the Punjabi community, particularly from Doaba and Majha regions, will have to continue to take flights to Canada from New Delhi.
The flight, which was temporarily suspended in May due to the Air India pilots’ strike, was expected to resume in August, but it did not. Now, official sources in the national carrier say that the flight has not been scheduled till October 31. The last Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight took off on May 7.
Talking to The Tribune, Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu said he has moved a call attention motion in the Lok Sabha in this regard, but the proceedings of Parliament are stalled over the coal blocks allocation scam.
“I have already met Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to seek resumption of the flight. I will not allow regional airports to be eclipsed by the selfish interests of private players,” he said.
Ashwani Gupta, a travel agency owner, said the delay in resumption of this direct flight was depriving Punjabis of an easy air journey straight to the holy city.
He said the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight used to have a passenger load of around 90 per cent and provided connectivity to Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Winnipeg.
This is not the first time that passengers have been facing problems on this route. Air India had discontinued the Amritsar-London-Toronto flight on October 31, 2010. This had created a lot of flutter among Punjabis and NRIs as it was one of the most successful international flights of the national carrier.
After its withdrawal, Air India had introduced a Hub and Spoke Scheme under which passengers were taken first to the international airport in New Delhi in a smaller 321 aircraft and from there, they were flown to London and Toronto on different flights. However, Air India later launched the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight last year.
PUNJABI NRIs A HARRIED LOT
- Suspended temporarily in May due to Air India pilots' strike, the flight was never resumed after the stir was over
- Official sources in the national carrier say the flight has not been scheduled till October 31
- Punjabis living abroad, particularly from Doaba and Majha regions, have now to take flights to Canada from New Delhi
