Ministry of Civil Aviation is continuously making efforts to improve better connectivity across the country under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. The latest development to this end comes from Union Civil Aviation Minister – Jyotiraditya Scindia, revealing that the Center is keen on expanding the terminals of Srinagar and Jammu airports.
“The government is committed to the development of the Srinagar airport and the existing terminal is being expanded to provide better facilities to tourists and locals,” Scindia said during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. He said that the central government would also expand the infrastructure facilities at the airport in Jammu. He said the terminal at Srinagar was being expanded and the expansion plan of Jammu airport would cost Rs 800 crore.
The minister was replying to a question by National Conference member Hasnain Masoodi, who sought expansion of airline facilities in the Valley and said that according to official estimates, eight million tourists visited Srinagar this year.
Scindia said that due to the work done by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, an atmosphere of peace and economic development has been established in Jammu and Kashmir after years.
Also, the minister recently launched direct flights between Mumbai and San Francisco. Air India will operate the flight thrice a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with the newly inducted Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. This will take Air India’s India-US frequency to 40 non-stop flights per week.
Currently, Air India operates non-stop flights from Mumbai to Newark, Delhi to New York, Newark, Washington DC, San Francisco and Chicago and Bengaluru to San Francisco. It will be the third Indian city after Delhi and Bengaluru to have direct flights to San Francisco.
with inputs from agencies