Fly to Pantnagar, Uttarakhand asks Deccan

The Uttarakhand government today said it has approached Deccan Aviation to operate regular service for Pantnagar airport in the Kumaon region and withdrew subsidy to Jagson Airline.

This follows the completion of new runway by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Pantnagar.

The new runway would now be 4,500 feet long. The modernisation work cost Rs 75 crore.

"We have decided not to extend subsidy to Jagson Airline," Civil Aviation Secretary PC Sharma said.

As the industrialisation development gathered momentum at Pantnagar, demand for a regular flight for Delhi grew in the recent past. Considering this, the government asked AAI to upgrade the airport.

Meanwhile, the government roped in Jagason Airline to start regular flight.

Now that the Pantnagar airport has been expanded, Sharma said the government would not extend its subsidy to Jagson Airline.

"Now it is upto Jagson to decide whether it wants to continue its air service to Pantnagar or not," Sharma said.

The government is now in talks with Deccan Airline to start a regular flight. "We have approached Deccan in this regard," Sharma said.

Already, Deccan Airline would be restarting its regular flights on Delhi-Dehra Dun route from March 30 as the modernisation and up-gradation of the Jolly Grant airport here is complete.

The Jolly Grant airport at Dehradun has been upgraded by AAI for operation of Boeing-737/Airbus-320 class of aircraft considering traffic potential and requirement projected by airlines.

For the purpose, the government had acquired land and spent Rs 100 crore on the modernisation work.

The airport has also been equipped with night landing facility. The newly constructed airstrip is now 7000 meter long and 150 meter wide.