Direct Amritsar-Shimla flights to start this month, 9-hour road journey will be covered in an hour, find out the tempting inaugural fare

The Newz Radar SHIMLA: The government initiated an air service linking Kullu to Amritsar, which has shown promising results since its launch last month. With passenger numbers averaging around 20 for both incoming and outgoing flights, the service has gained traction, except for a few days. Upon the state government’s request, the central government had introduced the Kullu-Amritsar air service. Direct flights between Shimla and Amritsar are slated to commence later this month. A distance that is covered in about nine hours by roads will be covered in an hour by air. An initial one-way ticket price of Rs 1,900 has been set, available exclusively through advance bookings, while on-the-spot ticket purchases will incur relatively higher rates. Under the second phase of the UDAN scheme, the central government will cover 80 per cent of the gap funding, while the state government will bear the remaining 20 per cent. Alliance Air has fixed ticket prices at Rs 3,284 for passengers traveling from Amritsar to Kullu and Rs 2,637 for those flying from Kullu to Amritsar, with these rates applicable solely through advance bookings. The direct air link between Kullu and Amritsar has significantly benefitted both tourists and locals. Furthermore, the flight schedule between Shimla and Dharamshala operating throughout the week has seen a notable rise in passenger numbers. While the flight scheme for Delhi-Shimla-Dharamshala remains satisfactory in terms of passengers arriving from Delhi to Shimla, the average number of passengers flying from Shimla to Dharamshala ranges from five to seven. However, there are days when the passenger count on flights from Shimla to Dharamshala reaches double digits.