The Indian Air Force (IFC, Delhi International) is set to launch scheduled passenger operations in the state of Jammu and Kashmir using An-32 equipment, Jammu Links News has reported.
According to the report, the service would connect the military airfield in Kargil, located near the disputed border with Pakistani-administered Gilgit-Baltistan (the Line of Control), with each of Srinagar and Jammu. Operations are set to be launched during the current winter season.
The decision to task the Indian Air Force with regional operations in Jammu and Kashmir was initiated by Additional Commissioner Kashmir (ACK), Abdul Salam Mir. The ACK discussed the necessary developments at Kargil, including the deployment of security personnel, a medical team, fire tenders, and transportation to the airport, with other parties during a recent meeting.
While Kargil currently does not see any civil scheduled operations, both Srinagar and Jammu are served exclusively domestically by a number of Indian airlines. According to the ch-aviation capacity module, services to Delhi International are the most important non-regional flights out of each of the airports.
For their part, Srinagar and Jammu are connected 14x weekly by SpiceJet and 7x weekly by each of IndiGo Airlines, Vistara, GoAir, and Air India.
The Indian Air Force was the launch customer for the Antonov Design Bureau An-32, a re-designed version of the An-26, in the 1970s and remains the largest operator of the type.
