The Srinagar-Sharjah international flight, a project launched by New Delhi with much fanfare, has been grounded for being economically unviable since Pakistan denied airspace.
Go First on Tuesday said it has stopped operating the Srinagar-Sharjah flight from March 27 as it does not have the requisite bilateral rights. Airlines need bilateral rights — which are granted under air services agreements signed between the two countries — to operate scheduled international passenger flights.
“Go First stopped operating Srinagar-Sharjah-Srinagar flight from March 27 as it does not have the requisite bilateral rights. Once we have the bilateral rights, we will resume operating flight on this route,” the spokesperson added.
“It became economically unviable because of denial of airspace by Pakistan. As of now, I don’t see this flight will operate again,” an official privy to the development said.
“The Srinagar-Sharjah flight is not operating now. The last flight operated in the last week of January,” Srinagar Airport Director Kuldeep Singh said. The reasons behind its suspension are known to the airlines, he added.
Home Minister Amit Shah had inaugurated Go First’s Srinagar-Sharjah flight on October 23 last year, connecting Jammu and Kashmir with the United Arab Emirates after around 11 years.
