Chandigarh?s drive towards becoming an IT hub has prompted local authorities to beef up air connectivity to the city.
Low cost airlines, Jetlite has recently launched its services from Chandigarh, connecting Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Lucknow and Chennai via New Delhi. A Jetlite executive told FE, ?The chief purpose of starting these services was to connect the people of the city to Delhi especially in the evenings since this is the last flight of the day.? Jetlite provided international connectivity to Kathmandu and Colombo, but in the near future might start flights to West Asia as well, he added.
An increasing number of passengers has prompted Jet Airways to introduce a direct
non-stop flight from Chandigarh to Mumbai since October 17. Earlier it was operating an ATR but has now deployed a Boeing aircraft on this route. We are also planning to run the Amritsar-London flight daily from January 2008, which flies thrice a week at pre sent?, said a Jet Airways executive.
Indian Airlines has also joined the race. It has plans to start a direct flight from Chandigarh to Mumbai. As of now, it links Chandigarh to Mumbai via Delhi . ?New aircraft will come soon and we might consider starting new flights from Chandigarh to Chennai, Hyderabad , Bangalore, and Goa,?said PK Sharma, manager, Indian Airlines.
Growth in the last one year has been 50% and the future growth rate depends upon the exploration of the new sectors? said PK Sharma, manager, Indian Airlines.
MDLR airlines, which landed in the city a few months back, has been operating crowded flights from Chandigarh to Delhi, Ranchi, Kolkata and Jodhpur. A spokesperson of MDLR said new flights to Amritsar and Kullu were expected to start within the next two months. ?We will be focusing on new destinations from Chandigarh and may consider a direct connection between the city and Mumbai sometime next year,? he said. Airport controller of Chandigarh Suneel Dutt said, Kingfisher had also showed interest in starting its services from the city. ?Indus Airlines is also considering to restart the Chandigarh-Mumbai flight within a short time,? he added.