Near to about 950,000 people in Canada are Punjabis. This means roughly accounts for nearly 2.4 percent of the total population as per the report of the 2021 census. Much of the Punjabi populace in Canada has ties to family, friends, and businesses in Punjab. India accounts for Canada’s fourth-largest international airport market. Thus running flights to India from Canada is a hugely profitable venture and thousands of Punjabis travel to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Hence, a need is felt for a direct flight between Canadian cities and Amritsar to cater to this large populace. Currently, there are no direct flights between Amritsar and Canada.
Call for a Direct Flight to Amritsar From Canada
Given the importance and dominance of Sikhs and Punjabis in Canada, Conservative MPs have made a call to the country’s flag carrier Air Canada to make ways for direct flights between Canada and Punjab which will also give a major boost to flights to India from Canada.
MPs Tim Uppal, Bradley vis, Jasraj Singh, and Mark Strahl urged Air Canada for direct flights between Canada and Amritsar to bolster tourism and empower families to stay connected. Canadian MPs represent many diverse communities, and they have written a letter to highlight the significant economic and social value of establishing direct flights between Canada and the state of Punjab.
Some reports estimate that as many as five lakh passengers travel annually from India to Toronto alone, the majority of them being Punjabis. The letter categorically stated that direct flights symbiotically bolster tourism and trade and empower families to stay connected.
Currently, there are no direct flights between Canada and Amritsar. That means travelers are required to make multiple stops en route making the journey lengthy and cumbersome. India and Canada have recently announced an open free skies agreement and air transport deal allowing both airlines to operate an unlimited number of flights between the two countries. The agreement gives Canadian airlines access to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Please note that Amritsar has been absent from the list despite demand from passengers from both sides.
Citizen Petition for Direct Flights
Over 14,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents have signed and joined the official parliamentary petition. That demands the commencement of direct flights to Punjab from Canada. The Covid-19 pandemic also emphasized the significant demand for flights from Amritsar to Canada. During the initial pandemic lockdowns, 30,000 Canadians found themselves stranded in India. Then, border closure and flight cancellations forced the Canadian government to instate 37 repatriation last minute flights. Many of them directly out of Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport to Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
The pandemic has shown there exists a high demand for direct flights from Amritsar to Canada. Moreover, the route will be equally feasible and profitable for the airlines as well, the letter noted.
MP Hallan, one of the signatories of the letter wrote on Twitter that so many of his constituents and Canadians have been asking their office for flights like these for years. This will help senior citizens, those most in need, and parents of small children with access to direct flights.
Needfully, the Canadian transport minister Omar Alghabra has raised the concern with his Indian counterpart. Back in India, MP Vikramjit Singh Sawhney has written a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. In which he pleaded with him to commence direct flights from Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal to Amritsar and Mohali airports.
