Flight operations on their way to normalcy in Lko
LUCKNOW : After being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, flight operations are on their way to normalcy in Lucknow, said experts of aviation Industry.
“The flight for Dehradun began on Thursday and the one for Chandigarh is scheduled to resume on August 25. The flight for Jaipur and Bhopal is expected to start on August 26, while the flight for Gorakhpur will start from October 25,” said AK Sharma, director, Lucknow airport.
Lucknow airport remained closed in March and it saw its first flight after 45 days on May 9, when 189 passengers arrived at Lucknow airport from Sharjah in the special Vande Bharat flight.
From that day, flights for various cities slowly resumed, but the frequency had reduced.
Before the pandemic, Lucknow airport used to operate around 120 flights per day, but now it is operating around 30 to 40 flights a day.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shoeb, president UP Chapter of All India Travel Agents’ Association of India, said: “Because of the pandemic, the business of travel agencies has taken a hit due to limited operations of flights in the country. Most of the travel agencies see a hope with commencement of these new intra-state flights. We hope this would bring us some business.”
He said there were around 24 prominent agencies in the travel business.
“In Lucknow, most of the customers come from corporate and government sectors, offices and businesses from adjoining districts. But due to the lockdown, around 80% of our customers were not travelling,” added Shoeb.
“If flights for other cities resume, things will improve,” he said.