Leh, December 17: ‘AN- 32 Kargil Courier Air Services will go online from this winter.’ said the Secretary, Civil Aviation, Ladakh, Saugat Biswas in a meeting chaired by him to ensure adequate arrangements to be put in place for smooth operations for the air services.

The Kargil Courier Air Service is made available to the people of Kargil during the winters when the Srinagar to Ladakh highway gets blocked for about five months. The subsidized air service is provided by the Indian Air Force under a special arrangement.

The Secretary briefed that there will be a major departure from the past practices as the operations will now be handled digitally, like booking systems, check-ins, issuance of boarding passes, cancellations, reallotment of seats, payments, and refunds, etc., for which a robust portal has been put in place by the administration.

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Representatives from Air Force Station Leh, Wing Commander, Trustin Jacob, and Group Captain from Udhampur Air Command highlighted the issues and concerns of the Air Force. They also informed the schedule and timings and the operational modalities of the services this year.

Chief Coordinator, J & K of AN-32 services, Aamir Ali briefed about the preparedness in Jammu and Srinagar airports for the smooth operations of the services. The issues were discussed with the directors of the respective airports for plugging gaps wherever existed.

Secretary, Civil Aviation, Saugat Biswas asked DC Kargil for quick appointment of Liaison Officers and Asst Nodal Officers in jammu , Srinagar, and Kargil for coordination wherever required. CISF assured arrangements to facilitate X-ray and frisking, as per SoP, and issuance of security cards and free passage to the concerned officers. Representatives of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Jammu assured for providing facilities for Covid testing as per the State SoP,

The meeting was attended by District Magistrate/ Deputy Commissioner, Kargil; Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ladakh; Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Leh; Additional Deputy Commissioner, Leh ; Airport Director, Airport Authority of India, Leh; Representatives of Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir; Representative of Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Airport Director, Srinagar ( Airport, Authority of India); Air Commodore, AOC, Air Force Station, Jammu; Director, Disaster Management, J&K (Chief Coordinator An- 32 Kargil Courier Service; Director, Disaster Management, J&K (Chief Coordinator AN-32 Kargil Courier Service); Director Health Service, Jammu; Director Health Service, Srinagar; Air-2 Rep of AOC, J&K, Udhampur; Rep. of AOC, Srinagar/ SATCO, IAF Srinagar; Rep. of AOC Jammu; Commandant CRPF Srinagar/ Airport; Commandant CISF Jammu/ Srinagar Airport; Station Manager, Air India, Srinagar; Station Manager, Air India, Jammu, and Liaison Officer, AN-32 Courier Services.