Darjeeling: Budget airline SpiceJet, the only carrier that runs flights to and from the greenfield airport in Sikkim's Pakyong has suspended operations, citing operational requirements from October 30 till further notice. According to a spokesperson of the budget airline, bad weather and low visibility were bottlenecks that led to the decision.
In a letter to the director of Pakyong Airport, Brijendra Singh, the deputy general manager (east) of SpiceJet said, "SpiceJet has decided to suspend operations out of Pakyong from 30th October 2022 till further notice. This is due to operational requirements."
A notice to this effect has been put up at the reception and the ticket counter of the airport. “We have not been told in detail about the reasons for the suspension, apart from what is mentioned in the letter,” said an official. The airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in 2018 and Spicejet has been serving at that airport since then.
The airport was built on about 201 acres of land at a cost of Rs 605 crore. The airport is located at a height of about 4500 feet above sea level and is 60 km away from the Indo-China border.
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SpiceJet has around 30 Bombardier DAS 8Q400 aircraft. On October 12, one such flight of theirs made an emergency landing in Hyderabad while coming from Goa. Civil aviation regulator DGCA ordered them to check engines and other things after smoke emanated from the cabin.
However, the airline has said that they want to stop their services there now and they have already informed the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Incidentally, the DGCA issued an order to SpiceJet on July 27 asking them to operate half of the total aircraft from the Pakyong airport. That order was issued for eight weeks and subsequently, it was extended to October 29.
