New Delhi [India], March 28 (ANI): Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually inaugurated a direct flight between Amritsar and UK's Gatwick and said the new international connectivity will work as a catalyst for the development of the region.

"It is an emotional subject also as lakhs of people of Punjab live in the UK and this new service will connect families living in two different countries," he added.

Speaking on the infrastructure development at Amritsar Airport, Scindia said that the Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the development of Amritsar Airport.

"The government has developed 13 parking aprons with an expenditure of Rs 50 crores, at the cost of Rs 100 crores, a parallel taxi-track has also been developed for easy movement of aircraft. A new integrated terminal has also been developed with an expenditure of Rs 250 crores," he added.

On the connectivity front, the minister said that this is the 3rd connectivity between Amritsar and England and there are six international flights which are operational from Amritsar.

"By 2014 Amritsar was connected to only 6 cities, in 9 years under the leadership of PM Modi, it has increased to 21 cities, a jump of 250 per cent. Earlier, the weekly traffic movement was 217 per week which has now increased to 416 per week, an increase of 87 per cent," the minister said.

Scindia further said that under the RCS UDAN scheme, with a budget of Rs 145.35 crore, 20 routes have been operational in Punjab and 4 more routes are planned to commence in the near future.

He also said that the government has signed an open sky offer with Canada wherein airline operators can operate unlimited flights between Indian cities and their Canadian counterparts.

The inauguration was attended by Som Parkash MoS, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, SK Mishra Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Malwinder Singh Jaggi Secretary of Civil Aviation of Punjab and CEO-Air India Campbell Wilson. (ANI)