After years of waiting and repeated delays commercial flight services finally began from newly operational Halwara Airport near Ludhiana on Friday marking a major milestone for Punjab’s aviation connectivity and this launch turned into a festive celebration as the very first Air India flight from Delhi landed at the airport amid traditional Punjabi performances, loud music and emotional scenes from local residents who had waited years for the facility to become functional.
The first commercial Air India Airbus A320 aircraft landed at Halwara Airport at 7:05 AM after taking off from Delhi at 5:55 AM and the aircraft received a traditional water cannon salute on arrival, a ceremonial honour generally reserved for historic aviation moments such as inaugural flights and airport launches and fire tenders sprayed massive arcs of water over the aircraft while it slowly taxied on the runway creating a memorable moment for passengers and airport staff.
The atmosphere at the airport resembled a cultural festival more than a routine airport operation with giddha performers that welcomed passengers with traditional Punjabi dance performances while students performed energetic Bhangra inside the airport premises while visitors, officials, supporters and local residents gathered in large numbers to witness what many described as a historic day for Ludhiana and nearby regions.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu arrived on the inaugural Air India flight from Delhi along with nearly 60 passengers. The new civil terminal at Halwara has been developed after the expansion of Indian Air Force base in the area and the project was approved by Punjab Cabinet in December 2018 but faced several delays over the passing years before finally becoming operational in 2026.
Located around 32 kilometres from Ludhiana city this airport now features a modern 2,000-square-metre terminal building along with a runway capable of handling large aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and the terminal has reportedly been constructed at a cost of nearly ₹54 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had virtually inaugurated the terminal earlier this year during his visit to Punjab.
Before the launch of Halwara operations Ludhiana had remained without regular commercial flight services since 2014 when operations at Sahnewal Airport were discontinued because of runway limitations and the new airport is now expected to significantly improve connectivity for Ludhiana which is one of Punjab’s biggest industrial and business hubs and according to airport authorities, Air India will initially operate two daily flights between Delhi and Ludhiana.
The journey between two cities will take around 1 hour and 15 minutes offering massive relief to travellers who earlier had to spend nearly six hours travelling to Delhi Airport by road and the flight schedule released by authorities’ states that the first daily flight departs from Delhi at 5:55 AM and lands in Ludhiana at 7:05 AM while the return flight then departs from Ludhiana at 7:55 AM and reaches Delhi at 9:10 AM.
The second daily flight departs from Delhi at 12:55 PM and arrives in Ludhiana at 2:10 PM and after a short halt it leaves Ludhiana at 2:40 PM and lands in Delhi at 3:55 PM.
One of the biggest attractions for travellers is the time-saving factor where travelling from Ludhiana to Delhi Airport by taxi or bus usually takes around six hours but now in comparison even after including airport check-in formalities the total journey time via Halwara Airport will be approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes only.
The ticket prices for this new service are expected to remain between ₹4,000 and ₹5,000 for Economy Class depending on luggage weight and booking timing and officials have said passengers booking tickets in advance may get fares closer to ₹4,000 while interestingly many travellers currently spend around ₹5,000 to ₹6,000 only on taxi fares while travelling from Ludhiana to Delhi Airport by road.
It is expected that flights from Ludhiana would save both time and money for business travellers and families and many industrialists and professionals from Ludhiana have long demanded direct air connectivity because of the city’s strong business links with Delhi and other major cities and with Halwara Airport becoming operational Punjab now effectively has another important air connectivity point alongside airports in Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bathinda, Pathankot and Jalandhar region’s Adampur Airport.
