The Union civil ministry is planning to connect Gangtok, Sikkim's capital, with Guwahati via a nine-seater aircraft, almost two years after flight services from the mountain state's Pakyong airport were halted.

K. Rammohan Naidu, the Union minister of civil aviation, wrote to Indra Hang Subba — the sole Lok Sabha member from Sikkim — on January 31. The letter said that the ministry has issued a letter of intent to Jet Wings, a private airline company, for the nine-seater aircraft on the Pakyong-Guwahati route.

“The proposal was initiated under the UDAN 5.3 scheme, which was a specialised bidding round of the regional connectivity scheme to revive and resume flight operations in discontinued, neglected and underserved routes of India,” said a source.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pakyong airport in September 2018, making it the country's 100th operational airport.

Flights to Calcutta, Guwahati and Delhi were introduced. However, operations were suspended in June 2024 because of adverse monsoon conditions.

“Since then, flights have stopped operating from Pakyong, and the residents of Sikkim, tourists and others visiting the Himalayan state have had to depend on Bagdogra again, which is around 130km away. The state and lawmakers have been insisting on the resumption of flights from Sikkim,” said a hotelier based in Gangtok.

“It is good even if a nine-seater flight is introduced for the Guwahati route. Many people from Sikkim travel to the Northeast regularly,” he added.

The Union minister, in his letter to Subba, has mentioned that the proposition to resume flights has been forwarded to all domestic airlines to explore the feasibility of operating the airport.

“The Airports Authority of India is fully prepared to facilitate flight operations, subject to airlines opting to operate from the airport,” reads the letter.

However, airline companies will decide after considering the market demand, commercial viability and their internal policies, a source said.

Subba wrote in a social media post on February 7: “I will continue to engage with the Government of India and airline operators to ensure the early resumption of flight services from Pakyong airport for the benefit of Sikkim and its people.”