Jammu, Nov 20 (IANS): The Indian Air Force (IAF) will undertake air sorties to carry passengers from Kargil district in the Ladakh region of the state to Srinagar and Jammu from Dec 1, authorities said Wednesday.

Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft AN-32 will also operate during the winter months after Zojila Pass, the only surface link between Srinagar and the cold desert Ladakh region, closes.

Zojila Pass connects the Ladakh region with the rest of the country, and it gets blocked for five months because of heavy snowfall during the winter season.

The decision to start the courier service was taken here Wednesday at a meeting chaired by Qamar Ali Akhoon, advisor to the state chief minister.

The request for the service was made by the Ladakh autonomous hill development council (LAHDC) Kargil.

It was decided that the AN-32 courier service will operate from Srinagar to Kargil and back, three times in a week, on every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The service will also operate from Jammu to Kargil and back once in a week on every Tuesday.

Also, given the heavy rush of passengers at Jammu, it was decided the government will discuss with the ministry of defence the operation of one additional sortie from Jammu to Kargil for people who get stranded due to the closure of Zojila Pass.