Mohali: The wait for the introduction of a third international route from Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport is still not over as no fresh international flights have been allotted in the winter schedule announced by the Airport Authority of India (AAI). Reason: No international flight operator has been selected to conduct operations from the airport.
As a solace, three domestic flights have been added to the daily flight schedule in the winter schedule as Varanasi, a new sector, has been incorporated.

The winter schedule commences from October 27, said Ajay Verma, CEO, International Airport Chandigarh.
Verma said, “The draft for the winter schedule has been formulated. We aspired to include one international flight, and we are persistently endeavoring to secure an airline to operate an international flight. The winter schedule will be executed from October 27.”
The winter schedule encompasses three supplementary domestic flights, culminating in a total of 45 daily flights, including two international flights, operating from Chandigarh International Airport. Furthermore, the AAI has amended the arrival and departure times, with the inaugural flight departing at 5.55am and the ultimate flight arriving at 11.25pm.
The three newly instituted domestic flights are Indigo Flight 6E6351/6351, which will embark from Chandigarh for Varanasi at 2.10pm. Indigo Flight 6E291/293 will depart for Leh at 11.45am, and Indigo Flight 6E6041 will arrive from Srinagar at 7.50pm and subsequently depart for Kolkata at 8pm.
Due to the prevalence of winter fog, the airport's operating hours have been modified, with the final flight from Ahmedabad now slated to land at 11.25pm instead of the previous 12.30am. The inaugural flight will take off at 5.55am, a slight delay compared to the 5:15 AM departure in the summer schedule.