Dharamshala-Jaipur air service starts

Dharamsala got connected to Jaipur via air as SpiceJet started a direct flight between the two tourist destinations on Sunday, the first link of the Himachal Pradesh city to a destination other than New Delhi.

The 90-seater SpiceJet aircraft took off from the Jaipur airport at 6.05 am with full passenger capacity and landed at the Dharamshala airport at 7.35 am. The aircraft left from Dharamshala at around 11.40 am and landed at Jaipur at 1.05 pm. The fare has been fixed at Rs 3,645 per passenger for one-way trip.

"It shall be a daily flight between the two tourist cities. A helicopter tourist service is also being started between Dharamshala-Chandigarh and Dharamshala-Shimla from here within the next six-seven days, which will be an added feat in air travel from here," Kishor Sharma, director of the Dharamshala airport, said.

Sharma said that it was a healthy sign that the inaugural Dharamshala-Jaipur flight was having full passenger load.

With this non-stop flight, the number of aircraft coming to the Dharamshala airport will increase to four. At the moment, three flights offer air services between Dharamshala and Delhi daily.

The hotel industry in Dharamshala welcomed the move. "This daily air link between two most-loved tourist cities of India shall boost the hotelier's business in Dharamshala. If some airline company starts a direct or connecting flight to Mumbai from Dharamshala, it will be a boon for the national/international tourists," Sanjeev Gandhi, secretary of the Dharamshala hotel association, said.

Dharamsala-Chandigarh air link is also the need of the hour, he added.