SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has been forced to extend the suspension of its services from Kolkata to Gangtok, the capital of the mountainous northern Indian state of Sikkim. The airline had originally intended to resume the service from October 1.

Up until the end of May, the low-cost carrier was operating the 274-nautical mile (507 kilometre) sector with a daily Dash 8-400 rotation. The ch-aviation schedules module confirms that this was SpiceJet's only service in Sikkim state.

In August 2018, SpiceJet was awarded two routes to Pakyong, one from Kolkata and one from Delhi International under the regional connectivity scheme (Ude Desh ka aam Nagrik - UDAN). To date, the Delhi-Pakyong service has yet to be launched.

In an e-mail to ch-aviation regarding the continued suspension of the Kolkata-Pakyong route, an airline spokesperson said: "SpiceJet flights to and from Pakyong airport have been temporarily suspended with effect from June 1, 2019, due to operational constraints owing to the bad weather condition and low visibility at Pakyong. Pakyong is a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) airport and does not have instrument landing facilities. Required minima to operate from this airport are 5,000 feet, which is difficult to achieve on most of the days in a year. To avoid inconvenience to our passengers, flight operations have been temporarily suspended."

The comment concluded with the following statement: "SpiceJet will share an update once the flight services on Kolkata - Pakyong sector resume."

According to the airline's booking tool, as of October 29, Pakyong is still visible as a destination from Kolkata.