Having remained suspended for four days due to heavy snowfall and extremely bad weather, flight operations at the Srinagar airport were resumed on Thursday when a rush of ticket seekers for flights to New Delhi, Jammu, Mumbai and other places was witnessed at the offices of private airlines.
The airlines were planning extra flights to clear the rush of stranded tourists and local passengers as the 300 kms long strategic Jammu—Srinagar highway was still closed for vehicular traffic because of snow and landslides at several places.
Keeping in view the spiral in demand for seats in the flights, many airlines have hiked the ticket for flight from Srinagar to Delhi.
The ticket that was earlier available for around Rs.5500 is now being sold for anything around Rs.10,000, passengers complained. In view of the rush of ticket seekers, the Srinagar airport tweeted advised people to be aware before booking flight tickets, kindly follow airline websites and trusted websites or firm as there was heavy demand of flight booking.
Kashmir valley remained cut off from rest of the country for the past four days when the air services and the road links were snapped due to snow and poor visibility.
Stranded tourists in particular rushed to the airport soon after the authorities tweeted; “We are happy to have restored and resumed flight operation just after heavy snowfall and bad weather condition without leaving any stone related to safety parameters for aircraft operation. We welcome our esteemed passengers again”. Traffic jams were witnessed on the roads in Srinagar as the snow clearance operations were slow.
“As temperature is below freezing point it is advisable to keep yourself warm and fit .In terminal building Srinagar airport, comfortable temperature maintained and look after by our electrical team. We are at your service”, tweeted the Srinagar airport.
The traffic police said that the Jammu—Srinagar highway was closed for traffic due to accumulation of snow and slippery road condition at the Jawahar Tunnel and major landslides at more than six places.
Weather opened in the plains of Jammu where sun came out after four days of incessant rains.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department said that after passing of the Western Disturbance, foggy morning is normally observed in Kashmir Valley because of moisture and a clear sky. “Visibility will definitely improve with the rise of temperature.”
Complaints of removal of snow and restoration of power supply at snail’s speed have been received from the Kashmir valley. More than 4 ft of snow was recorded particularly in the south Kashmir where it was taking lot of time to clear the roads.