Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 19 September 2025
The Hindu Rashtra Shakti (HRS), on behalf of citizens and tourism stakeholders of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has submitted a memorandum to the Union Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism, appealing for urgent restoration of flight connectivity to the islands. Copies of the representation were also sent to the Member of Parliament of the Islands, the Hon’ble Lt. Governor, and the Chief Secretary of the A&N Administration.
In the representation, Angshuman Roy, State Youth President of HRS, highlighted that the number of daily flights to Port Blair has dropped drastically since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the islands were connected with around 25 flights daily, but the number has now reduced to just 12–13 flights, creating what the memorandum terms an “unprecedented crisis.”
The organisation stressed that the tourism industry — the backbone of the Islands’ economy — has been severely affected. Thousands of taxi drivers, hotel staff, tour operators, and hospitality workers have been rendered jobless. Many small business owners, who took loans to set up tourism-related ventures, are reportedly struggling to repay debts, raising concerns of mounting non-performing assets among local financial institutions.
The memorandum also underlined the dual importance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — both as a tourism hub and as a strategically significant territory for India’s maritime security. It cautioned that the continuing decline in air connectivity threatens the islands’ economic stability and strategic relevance.
HRS urged the Centre to take immediate steps, including:
- Restoring pre-pandemic levels of flight connectivity in coordination with airlines,
- Launching a dedicated tourism promotion campaign,
- Extending financial assistance and loan restructuring facilities to affected businesses, and
- Establishing a permanent stakeholder consultation mechanism for sustainable development of the sector.
“The people of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have always shown resilience, but the present situation has caused immense distress,” the memorandum stated, expressing hope that the government would intervene swiftly.
