Srinagar, 04 July: In a major development, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, on Saturday broke the news that the Srinagar Airport runway will not remain shut as proposed earlier.
Omar Abdullah thanked the Government of India (GoI) for suspending the Srinagar Airport runway closure proposal. The Chief Minister said the latest decision “will ensure uninterrupted air connectivity and protect tourism, trade and public convenience”.
Omar Abdullah said the decision to suspend the closure would provide the “much-needed relief to passengers and the tourism sector”.
According to sources in the J&K National Conference (JKNC), Omar Abdullah had been quietly working with the GoI to protect the interests of the region’s tourism sector and other stakeholders and players involved with hospitality and protocol.
The JKNC said in a statement that it was important to “safeguard the interests of passengers, the tourism industry, trade, and the people of Jammu & Kashmir, who would have been adversely affected by the proposed closure”.
On X, Omar Abdullah wrote: “Grateful to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Ji and Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Ji for acceding to our request and suspending the airport closure order. This closure had created a lot of difficulties for regular travellers and forced tour groups and tourists to cancel their planned visits.”
https://twitter.com/OmarAbdullah/status/2073305823150026809
Omar Abdullah said that it was vital to maintain seamless air connectivity for Jammu & Kashmir’s economy, particularly during the peak tourist season.
