India, May 15 -- Ending a wait of nearly three decades, the first commercial flight from Delhi landed at the newly operational Halwara Civil Terminal near Ludhiana on Friday morning, marking the formal beginning of passenger operations at Punjab's much-anticipated aviation project.

The inaugural Air India flight touched down at 7:05am carrying 60 passengers, including Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Singh Bittu and Rajya Sabha members Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Rajinder Gupta. The delegation, alongside various BJP leaders, had travelled to Delhi on Thursday specifically to experience the maiden return flight to Ludhiana.

BJP takes credit in AAP absence

The arrival turned into a high-profile celebratory moment for the BJP. ...