Direct Amritsar-Singapore flight from Oct 1

Singapore Airlines on Thursday announced that it will start thrice a week direct flight between Amritsar and Singapore from October 1, the Airlines' general manager, India operations, B K Ong said.

"The approvals for the commencement of direct services have been obtained from the ministry of civil aviation and Director General of Civil Aviation. Amritsar will be the tenth Indian destination to be served by SIA and its subsidiary, Silk Air," Ong said.

He said the airline will offer inaugural discount by up to 15 per cent and the return ticket to Singapore would cost Rs 18,807.

"The direct flights will operate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and the aircraft being deployed for these flights is the Boeing B777-200. The aircraft will have a total of 323 seats in a two-class seat configuration with 30 seats in Business Class and 293 seats in Economy Class," he said.

He said Amritsar can be a gateway for Sikh, Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage traffic with its proximity to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh and Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.

"With the commencement of direct services between Amritsar and Singapore, we believe it will open new vistas for business, leisure and religious tourism in Punjab," he said, adding with the launch of Amritsar flights, the total number of flights operated by SIA to various points and destinations in India will go up to 38.

Ong said there was a great potential for inbound and outbound traffic in the region since it will provide direct connectivity for the Punjabi Diaspora living abroad.

He claimed that SAI would become the first airline in to operate biggest flight -- Airbus 380-800 -- in the world by year 2006.

Punjab's Tourism Minister Jagmohan Singh Kang, who also addressed the press conference, said he hoped many other airlines would follow and start operating flights to Amritsar.

Asked when Amritsar was such an important tourist destination, then why no flight was connecting the holy city with Delhi or other parts in the country, he said Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh would be taking up this issue with the Centre shortly.

He informed that another airport near Phillaur may come up shortly. "We are working out the modalities for setting up this airport," he said.

Kang said that efforts would be made to upgrade the Raja Sansi International Airport at Amritsar and improve the infrastructure to provide better facilities to the tourists.