e-3771 Transportation
Brad Vis
Air transportation,India
February 11, 2022, at 9:01 a.m. (EDT)
Petition to the Government of Canada
  Whereas:
  
    Canada has one of the largest number of immigrants from Punjab, India;
    This immigrant population travels year-round visiting family, friends, and important religious places, including Sri Harmandir Sahib (The Golden Temple) in Amritsar, more often than any other ethnic group;
    Most passengers currently traveling on direct flights to Delhi from Vancouver and Toronto on Air Canada and Air India have their final destination in various areas of Punjab;
    Irony is that a nation with over a million Punjabis is still not connected with Amritsar International Airport (Punjab, India), the second largest airport in Northern India;
    In March 2020, thousands of Canadians were stranded in India due to block on international air travel and over 40,000 of them were stuck in Punjab;
    There was a huge demand for repatriation flights from Amritsar instead of Delhi, which made the Canadian Foreign Office operate those flights from Amritsar itself;
    For the first time ever, over 7500 Canadians returned to Canada on more than 25 special flights operated directly from Amritsar airport;
    Currently it takes over 30 to 50 hours for reaching various places in Punjab from Canada; and
    There is a long-standing demand from the expatriate Punjabis that there should be direct flights from Vancouver and Toronto to Amritsar.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
    1. Take proactive steps by encouraging the airlines to connect Vancouver and Toronto with Amritsar Airport; and
    2. Initiate talks through diplomatic channels involving the High Commissioner of India in Canada for initiating this air connectivity to Amritsar on a priority basis.