Shimla, April 6 The Himachal Pradesh government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alliance Air to operate daily flights on the Delhi-Shimla and Shimla-Dharamshala routes, Tourism & Civil Aviation Director Vivek Bhatia said on Monday.
Bhatia said the move was aimed at boosting tourism and strengthening regional air connectivity, creating a direct air link between the national capital, the state capital, and Dharamshala.
He said that the services would be operated using an ATR 42-600 aircraft with 48 seats.
"Commercial operations are likely to begin in the last week of April 2026. Both routes will be operated using 100 per cent Viability Gap Funding (VGF), with the entire cost borne by the state government as a grant to Alliance Air. The total annual VGF expenditure is estimated at ₹32.64 crore, based on actual billing. The MoU is valid for 12 months from the date of commencement of operations," he said.