This summer vacation, you can get to experience a trip to Shimla by air as the Supreme Court on Thursday set a deadline of May 4 for all airline operators, including national carrier Air India, to inform their preparedness to commence flights to Shimla airport.
The table-top runway at Shimla, sliced out of a mountain top is 3,800-foot-long and situated at a height of 2,196 metres above sea level, do not enjoy air connectivity despite the city being a major tourist attraction. Upset over the fact that Shimla was the only State capital not connected via air, the Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur explored various options to include Shimla on the air map.
On Thursday, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) PS Patwalia appearing for Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Court that on April 19, an order was issued by Government including Shimla in the Category II of routes where all operators are duty bound to operate 10 per cent of its flights. Other States/regions included in this category are Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, lakshadweep and North-East.
Patwalia said that the airport can currently handle small flights which are 42-seater and all safety aspects have been examined and cleared by Airport Authority of India and DG Civil Aviation in its inspections conducted in January this year. However, ASG said that it cannot force airlines to commence operations.
The Bench said, “Now that Shimla is a Category II Airport, you (DGCA) must write to operators to disclose their fleet if they have the 42-seater ATR airplanes. By May 4 if services are not commenced, the message should go to whoever concerned that the earlier they commence operations, the better it will be for them. Your entire route disbursal policy seems topsy turvy. In any case we would like to audit the policy.”
The Bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and UU lalit expressed surprise over how Srinagar continued to be kept in Category II when it is one of the busiest and lucrative routes for airlines.