Canada: The flag carrier of the nation has been urged by Conservative MPs to start direct flights between Canada and Punjab state due to the demographic domination of Sikhs and Punjabis in the country.
Tim Uppal, Jasraj Singh Hallan, Bradley Vis, and Mark Strahl, MPs, urged Air Canada in a letter to provide direct flights between Canada and Amritsar to boost travel and give families more flexibility.
The MPs wrote last week: “As Canadian MPs representing vast and diverse communities, we write to highlight the significant economic and social value in establishing direct flights between Canada and the state of Punjab.”
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Five lakh travellers, mostly Punjabis, are said to fly from India to Toronto alone each year, according to estimates.
Direct flights between Canada and Amritsar, according to the MPs, “would symbiotically boost tourism, trade, and enable family to stay linked.”
Currently, there are no direct flights from Canada to Amritsar, India, so travellers must make several stops along the way, making the trip “lengthy and gruelling.”
A new enhanced air transport agreement between Canada and India allows selected carriers to run an infinite number of flights between the two nations.
Despite requests from passengers on both sides, the agreement grants Canadian airlines access to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai, but not Amritsar.
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Punjabis constitute 2.6% of the entire population
According to the 2021 census, there are roughly 950,000 Punjabis living in Canada, or 2.6% of the entire population.
Many of these families have close connections to friends, relatives, and companies in Punjab.
Thousands of Punjabis visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar from India, which is Canada’s fourth-largest international airport market.
The letter said that this year, more than 14,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents signed an official legislative petition requesting for the establishment of a direct flight from Canada to Amritsar.
The Covid-19 outbreak, according to the MPs, has highlighted the critical need for flights from Amritsar to Canada.
Border closures and flight cancellations during the initial pandemic lockdowns, when 30,000 Canadians were in India, forced the federal government to establish 37 repatriation flights, many of which flew directly from Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
The letter read, “The pandemic has shown us that direct flights from Amritsar to Canada is both feasible for airlines and met by a high demand for travellers.”
MP Hallan, one of the signatories of the letter tweeted, “So many of my constituents and Canadians have been asking our office for flights like these for years. This will help our seniors, those most in need and parents of small children with access to direct flights.”
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