After a gruelling wait of over 2 years, the Adampur Airport will begin flight operations today, with Star Airlines flying the passengers to Bengaluru, Nanded and Ghaziabad. The first flight will start from the Civil Airport to Nanded Sahib via Hindon Airport (Ghaziabad) during the at 12:50 pm. Economy class fare will be Rs 2,000 which including tax is around Rs 2300. This 72 seater flight will reach Hindon in just an hour.
However, what’s jarring is the route from Jalandhar to Adampur is rife with broken roads and roadworks which are bound to make travel time inconvenient for the commuters. The distance of about 28 kilometers takes more than an hour to cover thanks to roadworks going on at two places between Jandu Singa and Adampur on Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road. Also, the incomplete work on the overbridge results in heavy traffic jams inside Adampur City. Beyond Adampur, when turning towards the airport, vehicles on both sides run in a single lane. There is a canal on the right side and fields on the left side.
Not only this, there is a railway crossing on the route, the gates for which are often found to be closed. This also adds more travel time to the commute. Moving ahead, the road to Kandola village is only six-seven feet wide at many places. There are fields on both sides and a dense population of villages ahead, on which common people, farmers, children and animals also walk.
Special stay in village for Star Air employees
As per reports, Star Air employees said that they have taken a house ton rent in Kandola village itself, because the distance from Jalandhar is too much. The dismal conditions of the road leads to a fear of getting stuck in traffic. Hence, to avoid delay in duty, arrangements were made to stay in the village itself as Up-and-down from Jalandhar is also less safe.
No bus, no train and an overpriced OLA cab
There is no bus-train service to Adampur Airport. Private vehicle is the only option. As per reports, the driver of Ola Cab asked for Rs 1000 instead of Rs 673 on booking. Argued that no return ride would be available from there. Even taxi service people are not ready for less than Rs 1000. Therefore, going to the airport is not easy even from a financial point of view.
Flights will be canceled on 1st, 7th and 10th: Airport
Authority officials said the response to online booking for flights has been strong as many travelers from the region are interested in visiting Takht Sri Hazur Sahib in Nanded. As of now, there are two trains going to Nanded. Due to Air Force related activities, flights on April 1, 7 and 10 have been cancelled. Other flights can be rescheduled if needed, but passengers will be notified through SMS.
On March 10, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the new terminal of the civil airport built at a cost of Rs 115 crore. Due to the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, no politician will participate in this program. Domestic flights from Adampur Civil Airport started on 1 May 2018. Flights were stopped on 24 April 2021 during Covid. Now flights are also proposed for Kolkata, Goa and Bangalore