With the arrival of spring, tourist arrivals in Kashmir have started picking up significantly, prompting the J&K administration to consider increasing daily flights to the region. Officials said Srinagar International Airport, the only civilian airport in Kashmir, set a new record last week with the highest-ever flights and passenger footfall witnessed on a single day.
“As many as 98 flights landed and flew out of the airport on April 4 with 13,895 passengers, the highest figure. The number of tourists is going to increase in the coming days which is why more flights will be connecting Srinagar with the rest of the country soon,” said an official.
Official data shows that the Srinagar airport recorded 22,18,088 passenger arrivals and departures last year between April and December with 17,579 flight operations, even though Covid-19 continued to wreak havoc on the air travel industry.
While restrictions on international travel due to Covid-19 and an uptick in domestic tourism are believed to have played a significant role in the air travel surge, the J&K administration’s move to reduce the Value Added Tax and Sales Tax on the aviation turbine fuel for airlines operating in the Union Territory has also contributed to.