Parliament Question: Inadequate Air Connectivity from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 3042 ( TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 6th August 2026 ) INADEQUATE AIR CONNECTIVITY FROM SRI GURU RAM DASS JEE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 3042. SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:- (a) whether the Government is aware of the severe hardships faced by passengers, particularly the large Punjabi diaspora, due to the lack of sufficient direct international flights from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, especially to Canada and if so, the details thereof; (b) whether any concrete steps are proposed to establish direct flight connectivity between Amritsar and Canada to eliminate the financial and operational inconvenience of transit travel via Delhi or foreign hubs, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has taken note of the inadequate direct domestic air connectivity from Amritsar to key strategic and religious destinations, specifically the Northeast region, Patna Sahib, Nanded Sahib, Chennai and Jaipur; (d) if so, the details of the measures being taken to introduce direct domestic flights from Amritsar to these destinations for the convenience of defence personnel stationed at the border, pilgrims, tourists, students and business travellers; and (e) the timeline by which the Government intends to enhance both international and domestic air connectivity at this major border, religious and economic hub to match its strategic importance? ANSWER Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION (Shri Murlidhar Mohol)(a) to (e): International flight operations are governed by bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and the respective country. In accordance with ASA, Indian designated carriers are free to mount operations to/from any international airport including Amritsar to foreign destinations such as Canada as per mutually agreed capacity limits, while any designated foreign airline can operate to/from a point in India if it is designated as a point of call in the ASA. At present, direct international connectivity to Sharjah, Birmingham, London, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Doha and Singapore is available from Amritsar Airport. Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched Hub & Spoke operations to provide seamless international connectivity to passengers from Tier-II and Tier-III cities through Indian hub airports. As part of the phased expansion of the initiative, Hub & Spoke operations from Amritsar Airport were launched on 28 July, 2026. Under this initiative, international passengers complete check-in, immigration and customs formalities at the originating spoke airport, such as Amritsar, and thereafter travel seamlessly through the designated hub airport to their international destinations including Canada. The start of domestic or international flights from any point in India is purely a commercial decision of scheduled airlines on the basis of passenger demand, availability of slots, economic viability of the route and other associated factors. The Government provides an enabling environment for growth of civil aviation sector but does not interfere in the operational plans of the airlines. ******