Flights from Kolkata to Srinagar to resume on June 16

Airlines like IndiGo and Air India Express, which previously ran daily flights on this route, are both slated to restart services from June 16. While some believed flights could have resumed earlier, sources suggest that low booking demand after the attack likely delayed the decision.

Meanwhile, flights to Ghaziabad (Hindan), Amritsar, and Chandigarh have already resumed, with Amritsar and Chandigarh reportedly seeing high demand. Travel agents have expressed optimism about the resumption of Srinagar flights, hoping it will lead to an increase in bookings.

While the airport officially ceased operations on May 7 — reportedly following India’s launch of “Operation Sindoor” targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) — commercial carriers like Air India Express and IndiGo Airlines had curtailed their flights from Kolkata to Srinagar even earlier. These preemptive cancellations were due to consistently low passenger numbers, also known as “poor loads,” making the route financially unsustainable.

According to a few tour operators, Kashmir’s tourism sector was booming after rebuilding trust among travellers and experiencing a resurgence in popularity. This progress, however, was abruptly halted by the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, sending shockwaves through the tour industry and casting a long shadow over what was anticipated to be a flourishing summer season.

Travel agencies and flight operators are grappling with a significant downturn, as many tourists, spooked by security concerns, had cancelled their plans.