Mohali, Oct. 26 -- The Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport is set for a surge in air traffic this winter as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has added four new domestic flights, including one to the country's most popular tourist destination Goa, to its schedule, effective from October 27, 2025, to March 28, 2026. With this, the tally of domestic flights has reached 53. The airport has two international flights -to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The Chandigarh-North Goa flight will depart at 2.30 pm and land at 5.20 pm, while the return will leave Goa at 1.10 pm, reaching Chandigarh at 3.50 pm, with starting fares of Rs.6,773. The city will also get a direct flight to Leh, which will depart at 11.45 am and reach by 12.50 pm, while the return will leave Leh at 10.10 am and arrive at 11.15 am, with base fares starting at Rs.6,763. One of the new routes, connecting Chandigarh and Bhuntar (Kullu-Manali), has led to confusion due to its incomplete flight circuit. According to AAI, Alliance Air will resume operations on the Kullu-Chandigarh route from November 7, after a two-year gap. The flight, discontinued in November 2023, had affected tourism in the hill region. The revived service will operate only one-way - from Bhuntar to Chandigarh - without a corresponding return leg. The same aircraft will continue from Chandigarh to Hisar, then to Delhi, Dehradun, and finally return to Kullu, forming a loop. While this re-establishes Kullu's connectivity with Chandigarh, tourism stakeholders have expressed disappointment over the absence of a two-way service. "The resumption of the Kullu-Chandigarh service is a welcome step for tourism," said Anil Kumar, AGM, Bhuntar Airport. "However, there's strong demand for a complete two-way connection among travelers and tour operators." Beginning November 22, Alliance Air will also operate a direct flight to Hisar. The flight will depart from Chandigarh at 11.10 am and arrive in Hisar at 12.10 pm. The return flight will leave at 12.35 pm and reach Chandigarh by 1.35 pm, with fares starting at Rs.2,574 under the flexi-fare system. Five IndiGo aircraft - from Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Hyderabad - will now be parked overnight at Chandigarh Airport and depart early morning. Chandigarh International Airport CEO Ajay Verma said, "We are steadily expanding Chandigarh's connectivity to major destinations. Bookings for the new routes have already begun, and more services will follow soon." With the updated schedule, the first flight from Chandigarh will take off at 5.20 am, while the last arrival from Hyderabad will land at 11.40 pm....