Start direct international flights to US, Canada from Punjab, says state minister

New Delhi (IANS): Punjab Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday demanded that both the Amritsar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport in Mohali be included for direct flights to Canada and the US.

He said the commencement of the direct flights would ensure great facility to a large number of travellers from both sides.

Calling on Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia here, Dhaliwal told him that a large number of Punjabis and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders had been living in Canada and the US since long, and that during the NRI sammelan organised by the Punjab government last December, these NRIs sought the commencement of these flights.

The state minister said there has been a persistent demand for providing direct air connectivity between Amritsar and Canada. Stressing that it is of utmost significance to make direct flights operational from Amritsar to Canadian cities, the minister said presently travellers both from Amritsar and Canadian cities are hugely inconvenienced, as they have to travel to or from New Delhi or other cities in India to reach their destinations.