Air India (AI, Delhi International) is set to resume flights to Shimla through its regional arm Alliance Air (India) (9I, Delhi International) following a successful test flight, reports the Economic Times of India. Citing a confidential source, the newspaper says that the airline will use an ATR aircraft as soon as Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) approval has been attained.
The airport, which serves the capital of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayan foothills, briefly resumed commercial operations in mid-2016 following a four-year break. At that time, virtual carrier Airhimalayas (Kullu) ran daily services to nearby Kullu, Chandigarh and Dharamsala, but these were suspended less than two months later. Prior to that, the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines (Mumbai International) served the airport until September 2012.
Alliance Air was recently awarded the Shimla – Delhi International route under the Indian government's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN). Deccan Charters (Bengaluru International) was also awarded the same route under the scheme.
The source said that Alliance Air is keen to start as soon as possible as the area is popular with tourists escaping northern India's summer heat. "We are aiming to resume operations at the earliest as the summer rush to the Himalayan mountain town has already begun and it would put us in an advantageous position," the source said.
