Agra takes off as first charter lands

Indian tour operators have gone ahead and done what the government has been proposing for a long time—developing small-town airport hub...

Indian tour operators have gone ahead and done what the government has been proposing for a long time—developing small-town airport hubs for international charter arrivals. The latest to join the charter club, after Goa, Amritsar and Cochin, is Agra, in the heart of the north-India circuit.

The tourism season for 2005-06 has already been kicked off with the arrival of the first charter which landed last week. The charter, operated by Sita-Kuoni Travel Ltd, will fly direct from Gatwick Airport, London, to Agra International Airport. Schedule for the season includes one flight a week, with a week-long stay in the country. The tour operator has got flights booked through November, up to March 2006, which runs into 24 weeks of bookings.

It cannot be better news for tour operators running their business in this highly-visited circuit, also popularly known as the Golden Triangle—of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur. It will take the pressure off the -congested air corridors to Delhi International Airport and get take-off and landing permissions easily in the lesser-used Agra Airport. Besides, by using Agra, it will decongest the bay and parking areas in the Delhi international airport.

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Says an official from Sita-Kuoni, ‘‘Hoteliers in Agra are ecstatic that now they will have clients who will now use the city as the base, rather than running in and out within a day. Also, because of cheaper landing charges in Agra, and cheaper hotel rates, as compared to Delhi, clients are also getting a better deal. Also, there are no rooms available in Delhi today.’’

By using neighbourhood airports, it seems like a win-win situation for clients as well as tour operators, say trade pundits.

But there is one hitch—the Agra Airport is operated by the IAF, which imposes heavy restrictions in terms of timings for landing and take-off.

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