Hearing the matter, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi observed that the earlier UDAN Scheme had expired in October 2025 and no flights had operated on the Shimla sector since then.
The Bench noted that Shimla remains the only state capital not connected under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), while all other state capitals have already been covered.
During the hearing, Union Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha appeared through video conferencing from New Delhi and informed the court that there was a shortage of smaller aircraft such as ATR-42, ATR-72 and Q400 planes. He, however, assured the Bench that the issue would be examined and stated that Alliance Air was likely to resume operations from May 21.
The court also took note of an affidavit filed by the state government stating that, under a memorandum of understanding, Alliance Air had earlier indicated that flights would resume in the first week of May once aircraft were ready for service.
In view of the developments, the Bench impleaded Alliance Air Aviation Limited through its Managing Director as a respondent and directed the airline to file its response and remain present on the next date of hearing.
Expressing concern over the underutilisation of the Shimla airport despite expenditure of Rs 116.70 crore under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, the court remarked that the airport could not be allowed to become “a white elephant standing as a sore thumb lit up in the hills.”
The Bench further directed the Union Government to explore the possibility of other airlines operating on the Shimla route and examine whether double-engine helicopters with a seating capacity of 20-25 passengers could operate between Delhi and Shimla if aircraft shortages persisted.
The court also sought details regarding the use of ATR-42, ATR-72 and Q400 aircraft at other hilly airports, including Pithoragarh and airports in northeastern states, to assess whether similar services were operational elsewhere.
Additionally, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has been directed to file a detailed affidavit clarifying when Shimla would be included under the Modified UDAN Scheme, the proposed timeline for restoration of flights and the financial structure of Viability Gap Funding (VGF), including whether the burden would be shared by the Centre and the state government.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 14, with the Union Civil Aviation Secretary directed to again join the proceedings through video conferencing.
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