Air India has decided to resume its operations in Himachal Pradesh from Wednesday (December 3), officials informed on Monday. Air India’s station manager at Bhuntar, Satish Kumar Sharma told a news agency that the authorities have decided to resume the lone flight between Delhi and Bhuntar (near Kullu) from December 3. The flight will operate twice a week - Wednesday and Friday.

The authorities of the State-owned carrier, citing fall in passenger numbers, had suspended the Delhi-Kullu flight on November 22. The flight was launched on March 19 this year when the new terminal building was inaugurated at Bhuntar by Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.

According to Ajit Butail,  tourism cell in-charge of Himachal Pradesh’s Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the restoration of flights would, of course, help in attracting the high-end tourists to visit the popular tourist resort Manali.

Tourism is an important contributor to the state’s economic development. Last year, over 8.8 million tourists, including 339,000 foreigners, visited the state.