Chandigarh Airport is now Shaheed Bhagat Singh Airport and Shimla Airport starts operations

September 28th is the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Shaheed means martyr – someone who laid down his life for the country.

Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter who gave up his life in the fight against the British. He also motivated others to join the movement.

Chandigarh is a Union Territory that serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana – two states in India.

Yesterday, the Chandigarh airport was renamed “Shaheed Bhagat Singh Airport“.

Shimla Airport starts operations

In spite of being a popular hill station and the state capital (and the de facto summer capital of the British), Shimla did not have an airport so far.

Therefore, it was a huge step forward in civil aviation as the Shimla Airport started operations on September 26th this year.

The water gun salute welcomed the first flight, as is customary in aviation.

The first flight was an Alliance Air flight from Delhi to Shimla.

At this time, the only flight to Shimla is from Delhi. There is one flight per day in each direction. (One flight from Delhi – Shimla and one flight from Shimla – Delhi).

This flight has been started under the government’s UDAN scheme.