Amritsar: The North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) has requested the Union government to permit Turkish Airlines to start its service from Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport.

The NRI body has made its plea through a communiqué to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju. The NAPA executive director, Satnam Singh Chahal, said, “At present, this airlines has daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul.”

He said, “In 2013, when India granted additional flying rights to Etihad Airline, Turkish Airlines had sought a five-fold increase in its current flying rights of around 4,000 seats a week to over 20,000 and permission to fly from six more Indian cities, which includes Amritsar.” According to global aviation circle the Turkish Airlines was seeking permission to fly from Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata to Istanbul, he added.

He said air connectivity from Amritsar to Istanbul would provide corridor to 110 countries with a strong network in Europe and the USA.