Air India to start flights to Dharamsala,Kullu today

This comes in the wake of Dharamsala getting a facelift for the May 16 and 18 IPL matches. Most hotels are also packed to capacity in the town. Initially,Air India will provide a 48-seater plane for Dharamsala,which will land at the Gaggal airport.

State Urban Development Minister Sudhir Sharma said Spice Jet is also keen to start its regular flight from Delhi to Dharamsala,the abode of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama. “Spice Jet is awaiting approval from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation),” Sharma,who is also the MLA from Dharamsala,said.

V C Pharka,Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh,said: “This is good news for Himachal Pradesh as the state government has been persistently asking the Centre to help the state get air connectivity.” Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had written twice to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh last month and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in regard to the matter. Veteran BJP leader Shanta Kumar and MP Anurag Thakur,who is also the president of Himachal Cricket Association,had also met Ajit Singh and demanded resumption of air connectivity for all the three airports of Shimla,Dharamsala and Kullu.

Earlier,Kingfisher was the only airline that operated regular flights between Delhi and three airports in Himachal — Jubbarhatti near Shimla,Gaggal near Dharamsala and Bhuntar near Kullu. However,it discontinued operations in the state before it was grounded in October last year.