In a decision that jolted the state’s tourism industry, aircraft carrier SpiceJet decided to suspend daily flights to the greenfield airport in Sikkim’s Pakyong from October 30 due to “operational constraints”. SpiceJet was the only carrier to operate services on this route.
An airline official said inclement weather and low visibility were challenges, which led to disruption of operations on the route.
“SpiceJet flights from Pakyong airport have been temporarily suspended with effect from October 30, 2022, due to operational constraints due to bad weather conditions and low visibility at Pakyong.
“Pakyong is a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) airport and does not have instrument landing facilities. The minimum required to operate from this airport is 5,000 feet, which is difficult to achieve during most days of the year, especially during the winter months. During
The notice of this change has been pasted at the airport reception and ticket counter. An official speaking to news agency PTI said on condition of anonymity that the airline suffered heavy losses during the monsoon as flights were canceled due to bad weather.
In 2018, SpiceJet started daily operations from the table-top airport and currently operates direct flights to Delhi and Kolkata.
State officials expressed concern about inconvenience to local residents, who take advantage of the airline’s services, whenever they are available. The suspension of flights will also have an impact on the tourism sector in the landlocked state.
“We are expecting services to resume early next year as the weather is generally favorable around that time of the year,” a tourism department official said.
With inputs from PTI.
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