Srinagar, March 19 (IANS) The first night flight was operated from Srinagar Airport on Friday.

The Go Air flight to New Delhi left at 7.15 p.m.

Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Ranjan Prakash Thakur, who was present on the occasion, greeted the crew of the flight and other ground personnel.

He said that the start of the night operations from Srinagar is the dawn of a new era as it will improve air connectivity to Jammu and Kashmir, and also boost the tourism sector by increasing the tourist footfall in the region.

Thakur said that with this development, the long-pending demand of tour and travel operators has been fulfilled and will substantially help in economic growth of the Union Territory as the tourism sector forms the core of its economy.

With start of night operations of flights, the summer schedule will see a substantial increase in flights to the UT.

--IANS zi/vd