Srinagar Airport upgrade from April 6 may 'affect tourist influx'

Srinagar: Flights at Srinagar airport can operate only between 8 am and 5 pm from April 6 this year as the Indian Air Force will carry out runway upgradation work that may continue through the summer months till autumn. The upgradation work will cause disruptions that may impact tourist arrivals in the Valley.

Officials maintained they will operate over 30 flights from the airport within the stipulated daily time frame. However, the tourism industry stakeholders are anxious about the disruptions eating into their business. "Air Force is doing the runway upgradation, which is a process that happens after every 10 to 15 years. From April 6, flights will operate between 8 am and 5 pm. The number of flights can increase to 34 as per the increase in passenger flow in summers," Srinagar Airport director Javed Anjam told ET.

He said there is no decision or information about complete closure of the airport in October-November for two weeks in connection with the same upgradation process. "We will have a good riding surface after the strengthening of the runway," Anjam said. On March 24, as per the official information, 30 flights arrived at Srinagar airport, taking the total number of flights to 60.


This work is likely to impact the tourist influx as well as the weekend corporate meetings, a key contributor to the tourism industry here.

During the peak tourist season in May 2024, over 50 flights arrived in a day at the Srinagar airport, taking the total number of flights operated from here in a single day to over 100. However, the Pahalgam attack in April 2025 washed out the whole tourism year.

"Reducing the frequency of flights and absence of early morning and late evening flights will definitely cause distress among travellers. With low frequency, airfares also increase significantly which discourages tourists," said Sajad Kralyari, secretary general of Travel Agents Association of Kashmir.