Flights to Sikkim from Oct 4; SpiceJet to connect Pakyong with Kolkata

The mountainous state of Sikkim would join the aviation map of the country on October 4 with the launch of the first flight by SpiceJet between Pakyong and Kolkata, the airline said Friday.

The no-frills carrier will operate daily direct flights on the Pakyong-Kolkata sector from October 4 and the Pakyong-Guwahati sector from October 16, it said.

The airline will be deploying its Bombardier Q-400 aircraft on the route.

SG 3324, operating on the Kolkata-Pakyong route, will depart from Kolkata for Pakyong at 9:30 am, whereas SG 3325 operating on the route of Pakyong-Guwahati route will depart at 11.15 am, a statement by the airline said.

SpiceJet was awarded the routes under UDAN II.

The greenfield Pakyong airport, close to Sikkim's capital Gangtok, had received the aerodrome license from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in May for commercial operations.

It will be the 100th functional airport in the country. Sikkim is the only state without a functional airport at present.

The airport was approved by the Centre in 2008 and was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore. The project is being billed on an engineering marvel, built at an height of 4,500 feet in an inhospitable terrain.

On March 10, SpiceJet had successfully operated a test flight to Pakyong, making it the first civil fixed aircraft to land at the airport.

The announcement about the launch of the service was made in the presence of Sikkim Chief Miniser Pawan Kumar Chamling, a SpiceJet statement said.

Senior SpiceJet officials handed over the first ticket to Chamling, thereby marking the formal announcement of the launch of the new flight service, it said.