Pakyong flights take wing ...CALCUTTA SERVICE STARTS, GUWAHATI FROM OCT 16

Water cannons welcome the first commercial flight, a SpiceJet plane to land at Sikkim's Pakyong Airport on Thursday

RAJEEV RAVIDAS, TT, 05 Oct 2018,  Pakyong (Sikkim): The first commercial flight touched down at Pakyong airport on Thursday with 74 passengers from Calcutta. 

The SpiceJet aircraft landed at 1.24pm, about two-and-half hours behind its scheduled arrival time of 10.50am. The return flight to Calcutta with 60-odd passengers left around 2.15pm. 

The passengers were given a warm welcome by officials of the Sikkim government, the Airports Authority of India and SpiceJet. They were offered khadas (scarves) and flowers as they entered the terminal. 

"This is a historic mercial operation of the airport will give a boost to tourism and make travel easier for the Sikkimese people," said D. T. Lepcha, the state minister for public works (building and housing) and transport departments.

Harkamal Singh Sokhey, the pilot of the Bombardier Q400, said the terrain was tricky but they were trained to fly in such conditions. "SpiceJet is proud to serve the people of Sikkim. I would like to congratulate the people of Sikkim and wish them well," he said. Sokhey had also piloted the trial flight to Pakyong on March 10.

There was another pilot on board, but he flew as a passenger. "It was a beautiful flight. An indescribable expe- Neeraj Madan, who flies Tata Steel planes. Madan said he had come to Sikkim to meet friends and attend a wedding Others passengers, too, echoed Madan. "The original departure time from Calcutta was 9.30am but the flight took off at 12.15pm. 

Otherwise, the flight was good and the landing perfect," said Suhas Bhattacharya, a senior corporate executive from Calcutta on a business trip to Sikkim.

R. Manjunatha, the director of Pakyong airport, said the delay was because of bad weather in Sikkim SpiceJet will fly daily from Calcutta. 

Return flights between Pakyong and Guwahati will start from October 16.