Jammu, Apr 29 (IANS): The Ministry of Civil Aviation has approved five Srinagar-Sharjah flights per week on a regular basis, officials said on Friday.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that regular flight service between Srinagar and Sharjah will help boost trade and tourism in the region.

Pertinently, the direct air link between the Valley and the UAE was revived after 11 years in October last year, and the facility has immense potential to strengthen J&K's ties with the Gulf region, creating market linkages and enabling direct export of J&K's agriculture, horticulture and handicraft products.

The UT administration has taken several steps to ensure that air traffic to the Jammu and Srinagar airports grows unhindered in the future.

The Jammu airport recently achieved a milestone by recording the highest ever footfall of 1.54 lakh passengers in March on 1,346 flights.

Similarly, more than 5,85,653 tourists have visited the Kashmir Valley between January and April 27, which is five times more than last year's figures of 1.26 lakh during the same period.