Recent disclosure of the Manager Air India that the direct flight between Srinagar and Dubai, widely projected as the beginning of a new era of International connection of Kashmir, may be re-routed through Amritsar is a tragic commentary on the attitude of authorities both in Delhi and Srinagar. The ostensible reason for re-routing the flight is the insufficient load incurring heavy losses to the Airline. However, no one has bothered to analyse the reasons for the insufficient load. Last February the flight had been started with a great fanfare and the Congress Chairperson herself had come to receive the first ever International flight. The commissioning of the International Airport was claimed to be the opening of Kashmir’s gateway to the world. It was expected to be an important Confidence Building Measure sending a signal that Kashmiris were not confined to the valley only but could fly out directly to any part of the world. However, most of these measures have ultimately proved to be only symbolic in nature. Concerned authorities have never tried to implement these honestly and sincerely. Be it the cross LOC travel, cross LOC trade, or the International flights. Cross LOC trade is being kept alive by shear will of the traders on two sides against all odds. It is virtually a blind barter trade without any communications or currency exchange. Most of these measures have been ad hoc political decisions taken without sufficient ground work and long term planning. Each measure is facing hiccups and innumerable obstacles. This happens when decisions are taken on the spur of the moment to give some temporary political sops rather than to bring some far reaching revolutionary changes in the overall planning process to improve an existing set up.

The first handicap in the Dubai flight is the visa. How can an International flight be started from a place without any facilities for visa? If people have to go to Delhi for getting a visa why should they come back to Srinagar to fly to Dubai and other places? It makes no sense. The first and foremost requirement is to arrange issuance of visas in Srinagar itself. One could have asked for setting up of various Consulates here but the disputed nature of the place comes as a road-block for the same. The only alternative would be to tap the possibility of online tourist visas which a number of IATA agents are authorised to issue. At the present moment there are about 20 IATA approved travel agents in Kashmir some of whom are authorised to issue international tickets. However, to be effective this system of issuance of tourist visas needs a tie up between the local travel agents and some hotels in Dubai that are authorised to sponsor tourist visas for the clients staying in their hotels. This entails working out some all inclusive travel packages for short visits to Dubai. No effort seems to have been made either by the Government of India Tourist Offices in the Gulf or by Air India itself. The Government has been totally shying away from cashing this wonderful opening for Kashmir Tourism. Recently about 22 Kashmiri Travel agents had gone to Dubai to attend the Annual Convention of the Travel Agents Association of India. However, there was no representative of the Government with them. They found sufficient interest among local travel agents and tour operators for sending groups to Kashmir but these local agents in Dubai were keen to get some assurance from the Government for starting these ventures. It is reported that the State Tourism Department is planning to mount a very high level promotional campaign in the Gulf Region during the month of December. This may motivate the tour operators in the Gulf Region to consider sending groups to Kashmir. To ensure this they would need a continued direct flight with increased frequency. Unfortunately, once the interest grows and generation of groups matures, the Air India may stop the flight. Such fantastic steps are not new in this part of the world where the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing!

In contrast to the out going passengers from Kashmir, there is no problem for incoming passengers but as already pointed out that traffic has to be generated from Dubai and surrounding Gulf countries. In addition, there is a possibility of European tourists visiting Kashmir through Dubai with a stop-over there. This aspect has already been tried by some local agents this year. A group of Greek travel agents on a familiarisation tour was brought to Srinagar from Dubai on the same flight but they did not have a good experience. According to the local travel agent, the Greek tourists stated that there was no worthwhile cabin service on the flight. They regretted travelling in what they termed worse than a “cattle class” flight. If this flight is meant for foreign tourists then it has to be upgraded to a normal configuration tourist flight. Moreover, the frequency has to be increased at least to two flights a week. Re-routing the flight via Amritsar would make it fully a workers flight as the present flights between Amritsar and Dubai are operated for the large number of workers from this area serving in the Gulf countries.

Air India is already in the Red and has been incurring hundreds of crores of losses. One fails to understand why they have to be the only carrier operating on this route? Last February, Mr.Vijay Mallaya, Chairman Kingfisher Airlines had given a press conference in Srinagar wherein he had committed to take a number of measures to promote tourism to Kashmir. He had also announced his intention to start a Srinagar-Dubai flight. Why can’t the Government allow him or for that matter a number of other private carriers operating flights to the Gulf to take over the Srinagar-Dubai and many other possible flights to the region? In fact, they should be able to motivate Emirates Airlines on reciprocal basis to take over the route which would also solve the visa problem as they are authorised to issue online visas for UAE. There are umpteen other possibilities for increasing load for the flight. We have not considered the cargo side. Some years back an International Group in Dubai, IFFCO, had shown interest in importing trout fish and fruit/salad dressings from Kashmir. This could not materialise in the absence of a direct flight and a cold chain. Now, it should be easy to start this cargo service. Apart from this there would be sufficient load of handicraft products.

It would be a pity that if in spite of all these possibilities the solitary International flight is re-routed from Srinagar or ultimately given a quiet burial on the plea of insufficient load. Unfortunately, the past experience has shown that such a possibility may ultimately occur unless the authorities as well as the travel trade do not wake up and take immediate corrective measures to fully exploit this wonderful opening for Kashmir Tourism and Trade!