Home ministry requests aviation ministry to operate more flights to Leh

The home ministry has requested the civil aviation ministry to operate four to five additional flights from New Delhi to Leh to bring back tourists stranded there following the devastating cloudburst that struck Ladakh.

The request has been sent as several thousand tourists were stranded in Leh and its surrounding areas following the disaster that so far claimed 130 lives.

One to two commercial flights operate between Delhi and Leh daily.

The home ministry has also requested the civil aviation ministry to operate the flights at the earliest -- at least two tomorrow -- as most of the tourists were keen to get out of the region where weather continues to be bad.

The Leh airport is located at an altitude of 11,500 feet above sea level. The cloudburst triggered flash floods on Thursday night that inundated the runway of the airport. Operations at the runway resumed yesterday afternoon.