Air India’s Delhi-Halwara flight was cancelled on Monday morning due to “operational reasons” at Delhi, leaving passengers travelling between the two cities inconvenienced. Air India did not specify the exact reason for the cancellation.A regular traveller from Halwara, who did not wish to be named, told The Tribune that he received a message from Air India informing him about the cancellation around 3:30 am.“I was all set to board the flight from Halwara around 7 am, but got panicked after learning about the cancellation. Since I had an important meeting with a few hosiery buyers in Delhi, I took my own car and reached there by 2 pm,” said the passenger, a Ludhiana resident.As the Air India flight from Delhi did not arrive at Halwara, passengers scheduled to travel from Halwara to Delhi also had to bear the brunt of the cancellation, as the same aircraft operates the return flight.Drop in passenger numbers in AugustHalwara Airport witnessed a decline in passenger traffic in August compared with the preceding months. The airport recorded 4,976 arrivals from Delhi to Halwara and 5,780 departures from Halwara to Delhi through morning and evening flights during the month.Halwara Airport Director Jagir Singh said June and July were vacation months when many families travelled, while schools were closed. Passenger numbers saw a slight decline in August, with around 1,000 fewer passengers recorded during the month, he said.Evening flight timings changed from September 10Halwara Airport authorities have announced a change in the timing of the evening flight from September 10. The flight, which earlier departed Halwara at 2:40 pm, will now depart at 4:05 pm. The morning flight timings will remain unchanged.Political interest in airport operations questionedWhen Halwara Airport became operational in May, BJP and AAP leaders engaged in a credit war over the launch of flight operations, a long-pending demand of residents. However, passengers say political parties have since shown little interest in addressing issues related to airport operations and passenger convenience.Passengers have also raised concerns over taxi fares, alleging that a “taxi mafia” has established a monopoly around the airport. They claim neither the Punjab Government nor BJP leaders have taken steps to regulate fares.“This can be another reason for the decline in the number of passengers, as taxi drivers charge hefty fares,” said another regular passenger, Ankur Mahajan, a chartered accountant from Ludhiana.