Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight suspended

The flight between Srinagar and Sharjah was operated by GoFirst (earlier Go Air). Confirming that the international flight has been grounded, Amir Miraj, manager, GoFirst, Srinagar, said, “It is a management decision.”

While launching the route on October 23 last year, Shah had said the flight will help boost tourism in the UT and bring more investment to J&K.

Sources said the flight was found to economically unviable, given the airspace restrictions — Pakistan had denied airspace to the international flight, forcing it to take a longer route.

The first direct international flight from Srinagar was launched in February 2009 — Air India flew once a week to Dubai. The direct flight was stopped after sometime and was routed through Amritsar, before it was finally grounded due to “poor response”.

Former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah had tweeted on the fate of the flight the day it was inaugurated: “… has Pakistan had a change of heart and allowed flights originating from Srinagar to use its air space? If not, this flight will die the way the Srinagar-Dubai flight died during UPA2…”