The inaugural Srinagar-Sharjah flight was flagged off on Saturday by Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport.
The flight, operated by Go First, took off for Sharjah at 6:30pm from Srinagar and landed at Sharjah International Airport at 9:30pm UAE time. The flight revives direct air link between the Kashmir Valley and the UAE after 11 years.
All passengers travelling to the UAE were required to carry a negative COVID-19 test report obtained less than four hours before the departure of the flight.
Passengers were also required to report six hours prior to departure and the COVID-19 test reports will be handed over to them in 30 to 60 minutes from the time of sample collection by the special lab set up by Go First at Srinagar airport. The flight was virtually flagged off by Shah from the Raj Bhavan.
Go First, formerly known as GoAir, is the first airline to start direct international passenger and cargo operations from Srinagar. It will operate four flights a week between Srinagar and Sharjah. The airlines is offering a special ticket price of Rs5,000 on the flight to Sharjah.
“Having been in operation here for over 15 years, we at Go First share a special relationship with the region and are committed to its growth. “We are delighted to be the first airline to connect Jammu and Kashmir with the UAE and it bears testimony to our commitment to the region.
“We believe that this connectivity will be pivotal in bilateral exchange of trade and tourism between the two regions”, Go First statement said.
The direct flights from Sharjah will offer seamless connections to Srinagar and beyond to Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu, Leh and Mumbai and vice versa. “Go First is the only airline appointed for the cargo movement of the horticultural, perishable and agricultural produce of Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Products, a state owned company,” the airlines said in a statement.
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