Naisha Sharma and her parents boarded the first flight to Bangkok on Monday. (Express Photo: Jasbir Malhi) Naisha Sharma and her parents boarded the first flight to Bangkok on Monday. (Express Photo: Jasbir Malhi) Chandigarh got connected with its third international destination on Monday after national carrier Air India started a direct flight from Chandigarh to Bangkok. The flight, scheduled to operate thrice a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday), brought 32 passengers from Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok while 117 passengers took the same flight in the afternoon. The flight arrived at 8.40 am and took off from Chandigarh at 2 pm. Monday’s flight was the third international destination that got directly connected with Chandigarh. AI’s subsidiary, Air India Express, is already running a Chandigarh-Sharjah flight while Indigo operates a flight to Dubai. Passengers, who availed of the first flight, said it was a “much required” connection to reduce travel time to Bangkok. “We were waiting for this flight for long. We booked the tickets immediately after the flight booking was announced. We keep travelling to Bangkok for holidays. But, this time, we are happy that me and my husband are travelling in a direct flight from the city,” said Alka Verma, who works at PGIMER. “I have specifically requested my seniors to sanction my leave.” For many passengers, the flight is a good news for business. “I used to travel to Kolkata first to get a direct flight to Myanmar. This flight will help me reach Myanmar in less time via Bangkok,” said Gurwinder Singh, from Mohali, who has a business in export. “This destination was much needed for Chandigarh. The airlines should add more international destinations from Chandigarh because this place has a huge potential,” he added. Suneel Dutt, CEO, Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL), said the flight was a long-pending demand of the people and the northern region has a growing demand and potential. “With the Chandigarh-Bangkok flight, more international take-offs can be seen from this regional airport,” he added. In the afternoon, Air India officials held a press conference to give details about this flight. They said A320 Neo aircraft has been deployed on this route which is around a five-hour journey. “In the coming weeks, the rush is expected to decrease further,” said AI Executive Director (Sales and Marketing), Pankaj Kumar. Asked about operating more flights from the airport, Kumar said they cannot introduce flights overnight. “It takes some time to develop traffic and develop that connectivity. Slowly, it will get more connectivity.” Isra Stapanaseth, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi, who was also present at the press conference, said there has been an increase of Indian tourist traffic in Thailand this year. “From January to September this year, we have already received 1.2 million tourists from India, which is a 16 per cent increase compared to the previous year.” Talking about the Air India flight, Stapanaseth said the flight would make travelling more convenient for people coming from cities like Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Manali, Shimla, Dehradun. For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App

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