Indian Air Force (IAF) will start air courier service to Kargil district in Ladakh from December 6 to facilitate the movement of people of the remote areas during winter.
"IAF will start its An-32 air courier service from Jammu and Srinagar airports from December 6 to facilitate movement of people in Kargil during winter as Srinagar-Kargil highway remains closed due to heavy snowfall," transport and consumer affairs and public distribution (CAPD) minister Qamar Ali Akhoon told reporters here.
A meeting was held with the Air Force officers on Thursday in which the schedule of air courier services from Srinagar and Jammu capital cities to airlift people of Kargil to the snow-cut district headquarter was discussed, he said.
Courier service will operate between Srinagar and Kargil on every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, while between Kargil and Jammu on every Tuesday, he said. Rs. 1,000 will be charged per passenger for flying from Srinagar to Kargil and Rs. 1,300 from Jammu to Kargil, Akhoon said.
In case of bad weather, passengers flying to Kargil would be dropped at Leh and additional flights would be operated next day, he said.