PAKYONG, : Chief P.S. Golay today
announced that the State government is actively working with flight operators
to resume services at Pakyong Airport, which has remained closed for nearly 19
months.
Speaking during the Chief
Minister’s Compound Archery Gold Cup final at Karthok here, the Chief Minister
said that discussions are underway with major airlines including SpiceJet and
IndiGo.Under the Central government’s UDAN scheme, both carriers have proposed
flight operations with a financial model requiring State support for unsold
seats, the Chief Minister added.
As per the offer, the Sikkim
government would sponsor 62 out of 72 seats for incoming flights and 52 out of
72 seats for outgoing flights in the event of unsold tickets.
“We have taken this matter to
the Central government and are waiting for their response,” said the Chief
Minister.
Meanwhile, officials from
Pakyong Airport informed that all infrastructure and operational systems are
ready. “From our side, everything is in place. We are only awaiting the outcome
of negotiations between flight operators and the State government,” said an
officer from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
AAI officials added that if all
goes well, flight services at the airport could resume within the next 10 days.
