Now Conservatives come out in support of Amritsar flights

In less than three weeks of the start of the weekly Amritsar-Milan-Toronto flight by Neos, a private airline of Italy, the main Opposition party in the House of Commons, the Conservatives, have come out in support of the flight.

The leader of the official opposition Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre  has announced his campaign for establishing direct flights between Canada and Amritsar. While endorsing the demand of the FlyAmritsar Initiative, an independent advocacy group working to promote better air connectivity to Amritsar for last decade has welcomed the announcement, saying Canada-Amritsar direct flights would immensely benefit the Punjabi diaspora.
The Conservative leader recently spoke at an event in Brampton with a room full of people holding banners “Direct Flights to Amritsar Now”, “Open the Skies to Amritsar”. Poilievre said “Punjabi Canadians have been
calling on the federal government to deliver direct flights between Amritsar and Canada. But even after years of activism from the Punjabi community, the Liberal government has failed to fight gatekeepers and open the skies to Amritsar”.

After the maiden flight from Amritsar on April 6 and subsequent outbound flights on April 13 and 20 have received overwhelming response, the return flight from Toronto to Amritsar is still generating good traffic. The returning aircraft are getting less than half their fill. Interestingly, the Toronto-Milan-Amritsar flight is cheaper compared to the Amritsar-Milan-Toronto flight.

Official carriers – Air India and Air Canada – are still to come out with their expansion plans regarding connecting Amritsar with Toronto and Vancouver while a private airline from a third nation has taken the initiative to provide the much needed link.
In 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed a new Open Skies Agreement with India that has abandoned Punjabi Canadians. Travelers wishing to go to Amritsar often have to wait an additional seven hours once they arrive at an airport in India or face an eight-to-10-hour drive to reach Punjab state, said Poilievre. He further added, “I along with my deputy leader Tim Uppal, shadow minister Jasraj Singh Hallan and a group
of other conservatives are launching a full campaign to get the direct flight from Canada to the State of Punjab especially to Amritsar so that over million Canadians who have their origins in that part of the world can fly
directly from our country to that beautiful place”.
FlyAmritsar Initiative Global Convener Sameep Singh Gumtala who flew in from the USA, while speaking at the event applauded Poilievre’s call for renegotiation of air service agreements with India to
establish direct flights to Amritsar. The direct flights will not only benefit the Punjabi community but also provide an opportunity for Canadians to
experience the rich culture and heritage of the region including the holiest place for Sikhs “The Harmandir Sahib”. Mr. Poilievre’s call for renegotiation is a welcome step in the right direction”, said Gumtala.
The FlyAmritsar Initiative spokesperson in Canada Mohit Dhanju and Convener for North American region Anant Singh Dhillon, thanked Poilievre and MP Tim Uppal for their efforts and urged the Conservative Party
leadership to continue reaching out to Canadian and Indian airline carriers including flagship carrier Air India as
well, to help make the dream of diaspora a reality.
Notably, in January 2022, a parliamentary petition was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons by  Initiative spokesperson Dhanju. The petition was sponsored by Conservative Party MP Brad Vis from Mission-

Matsqui-Fraser Canyon received an overwhelming response from the Canadians securing nearly 20,000signatures within a short span of 30 days.

Prabhjot Singh