Ludhiana district administration ordered a probe into damage to portions of the civil terminal building at Halwara airport following heavy rain.

Air India began commercial operations to Ludhiana’s Halwara airport on May 15, 2026, becoming its first commercial airline. The inaugural flight from Delhi landed at 7:03 am; the return departed at 8 am. The airline will operate two daily services using A320-family aircraft:

• AI481: Delhi 5:55 am–Ludhiana 7:05 am; AI482: Ludhiana 7:55 am–Delhi 9:10 am.
• AI483: Delhi 12:55 pm–Ludhiana 2:10 pm; AI484: Ludhiana 2:40 pm–Delhi 3:55 pm.

Passengers can connect through Delhi to Air India’s international network, including London, Paris, Milan, Rome and Birmingham, on a single ticket with unified baggage allowance and through-checked baggage. Domestic-to-international transfers are within the same terminal at Delhi airport.

Halwara Airport was operationalised on May 15, 2026, with an inaugural flight from Delhi to Ludhiana carrying Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu, Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney and MP Rajinder Gupta. Sahney said the airport would strengthen Ludhiana’s industry, trade, exports and economic growth. The terminal building was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February. The new civil enclave in Halwara, Ludhiana district, has a longer runway capable of handling A320-type aircraft; the earlier Ludhiana airport had a relatively small runway suitable only for small aircraft. The terminal is intended to serve Ludhiana and its surrounding industrial and agricultural hinterland. Halwara is also home to an Indian Air Force station.

Commercial complexes are mushrooming around Ludhiana-Halwara airport as investors target the area’s business potential.

Commercial operations at Halwara airport are scheduled to begin on May 15, 2026. Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated its terminal in February.

On April 6, Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu announced a revised Air India schedule: a 7:55am departure from Delhi arriving at Halwara at 9:45am, with the return flight at 10:25am, plus an afternoon rotation departing Delhi at 12:55pm and leaving Halwara at 2:40pm. Punjab industries and power minister Sanjeev Arora called the announcement misleading and said the schedule remains a 5:55am Delhi departure. Arora said he had followed up with the civil aviation ministry and Air India for three years.

The ₹54 crore civil terminal is 32km from Ludhiana city and covers 2,000 square metres. Its runway can handle Airbus A320 aircraft. Commercial services at nearby Sahnewal airport stopped in 2014 because of its short runway, leaving Ludhiana without a flight link for more than a decade; earlier regional services used 19-seater aircraft.