Flight operations at the Pakyong Airport in Sikkim have resumed with a SpiceJet plane landing at the table top airstrip after taking off from Delhi. The services were halted in October last year due to operational challenges. Of course, the halt of operations affected air traffic and caused inconvenience to passengers, thereby showing a decline in tourism. But, the successful landing of the SpiceJet flight with a total of 12 passengers landed and broke the pause.  The aircraft then took off to Delhi with 43 passengers, officials said. Regular flight services will start on March 26 with a daily flight to Delhi for now, officials said.

Before suspending its operations, SpiceJet used to operate daily flights to Delhi and Kolkata from Pakyong. Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang had earlier written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for resuming flight services. Pakyong airport is located at a distance of 26.8 km from state capital Gangtok. The busy Bagdogra airport in West Bengal’s Siliguri is around 123 km from Gangtok.

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Recently, two Boeing 737-800 aircrafts of SpiceJet have been deregistered by the aviation watchdog – DGCA. The carrier has confirmed that the return of these aircrafts will not hamper operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) deregistered VT-SZK and VT-SYA on March 6 and 9, respectively, according to notices on the regulator’s website.

Under the Cape Town Convention, lessors and lenders can seek deregistration of a leased aircraft in case there is a default. Such requests are done under the Irrevocable De-registration and Export Request Authorisation (IDERA). “While one of the aircraft is grounded for a long period and was to be returned earlier, the other is being returned due to certain engine issues with the lessor.