Flights resume as 28 take off from Sheikh Ul Alam Int’l Airport

Sgr-Jmu highway reopens

Srinagar: Flight operations resumed at Srinagar international airport as 28 took off while five others were cancelled on Sunday. Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only surface link connecting Kashmir Valley, reopened for stranded traffic and as per officials only LMVs shall be allowed on Monday provided road was clear.

Early morning, airport authorities cleared thin layer of ice on runway to prevent aircraft from skidding.

“We had 33 flights scheduled today, 28 flights operated and 5 were cancelled, AAI said in a tweet.

Since January 4th, there were 134 flight cancellations at the Srinagar Airport. “134 were cancelled from Srinagar only and 268 to and from Srinagar.”

While 43 flights were cancelled at Srinagar airport on Saturday, 6 each could not operate on Thursday and Friday.

42 flights were cancelled on Tuesday while many as 37 could not operate on Wednesday.

“The passengers of all those flights are being accommodated now. The new bookings will open after clearing the backlog,” the AAI had said.

Meanwhile the Jammu-Srinagar highway reopened for stranded traffic after remaining closed for the three days owing to heavy snowfall and multiple landslides in Ramban district.

“Tomorrow, subject to fair weather and better road condition (after clearance of road) LMVs Passengers shall be allowed from both sides on Jammu-Srinagar NHW viz Jammu towards Srinagar and vice-versa,” a traffic department official said, adding, “No Bus or Mini Bus will be allowed from either side.”

Earlier authorities speeded up the restoration work amid improvement in weather, officials said.

With improvement in weather after days of heavy rain and snowfall across Jammu and Kashmir, especially on Friday and Saturday, the road clearance operation was intensified on the 270-km-long strategic highway–the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the world.

The highway was closed for vehicular traffic on Friday afternoon shortly after it was opened for fresh traffic after two days of closure.

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