Passengers get seamless check-in, baggage transfer and immigration for 20+ destinations.
Amritsar: Redefining international connectivity and making international travel seamless, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry (MoCA) on Tuesday launched the `Hub and Spoke’ International Flight Operations from Amritsar airport.
With the commencement of operations from Amritsar, international passengers can now complete check-in, immigration and customs formalities at Amritsar before departure. Their baggage will be checked through to the final international destination, enabling them to transfer seamlessly at the designated hub airport to their onward international flight without undergoing immigration or customs formalities again.
This would not only ease load on the Delhi international airports immigration and customs counters but also make it convenient for the passengers, particularly elderly and women, to travel internationally with ease. The Hub and Spoke facility is at present available through Delhi for 20 international destinations.
Amritsar is the second airport in the country to be integrated into Hub and Spoke framework after the government opened Varanasi as the first airport under `Hub and Spoke’ model.
Highlighting the transformational impact of the Hub and Spoke model on international connectivity from Amritsar, MoCA minister Mr K. Ram Mohan Naidu said: “Until now, passengers travelling from Amritsar had direct international connectivity to only seven destinations. With the introduction of the Hub and Spoke model, the global connectivity of Delhi Airport will effectively become available to passengers right from Amritsar itself. Travelers will be able to access more than 20 international destinations with a single check-in and a single baggage tag, making the entire journey far more seamless. At present, nearly 1.5 lakh passengers travel from Amritsar to Delhi every year to board international flights, while another 1.5 lakh passengers arrive from overseas via Delhi to reach Amritsar. As travel becomes significantly easier under this integrated system, we expect passenger traffic to grow rapidly.”
The airlines have estimated a potential of nearly 250 passengers per day from Amritsar alone to benefit from the Hub and Spoke model through Delhi. As additional spoke airports are brought under the framework in the coming months, the next phase is expected to facilitate approximately 1,200 passengers every day, equivalent to nearly 4.5 lakh passengers annually, thereby significantly expanding seamless international connectivity from regional India. Air India dominates the number of flights in this sector due to its large number of international routes.
“Hub and Spoke is not merely an aviation model, it is an opportunity model. Delhi will serve as the hub, while Amritsar will emerge as a major international gateway for Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. With its strong diaspora connections and vast regional catchment, Amritsar is among the Indian cities that stand to benefit the most from this transformation in global connectivity,” said Mr Naidu.
He added that Amritsar occupies a unique position as one of India's major international gateways, serving pilgrims, members of the Indian diaspora, business travellers and tourists from Punjab and neighbouring regions.
Beyond improving passenger experience, the initiative is expected to generate wider economic benefits by strengthening tourism, trade, investment and regional development. Studies undertaken by the MoCA indicate that the development of aviation hub operations could generate nearly 0.4 million direct and indirect jobs and contribute an additional $ 30 billion to India's economy by 2030. By 2047, the cumulative impact is projected to support approximately 16 million direct and indirect jobs while contributing nearly $1.4 trillion to the national economy.
