Ghaziabad: Connecting flights to Lucknow, Prayagraj likely from Hindon civil airport

The civil terminal currently witnesses 16 flights connecting to 50 cities, and AAI officials said there is a possibility that the flights to Lucknow and Prayagraj may also be added to the list of cities

Ghaziabad The civil terminal at the Hindon airport may connect to two more cities, Lucknow and Prayagraj, following a meeting of the Ghaziabad Atul Garg with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials held in Delhi on Wednesday.

The civil terminal is also poised for expansion, and the AAI officials have also requested 9-hectares for the purpose. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Garg, who is also chairperson of the airport coordination committee, requested for over the possibility of opening the two routes during the meeting held at the AAI headquarters, and attended by airline operators.

“We proposed that flights from the civil airport should also connect to popular routes like Lucknow and Prayagraj. Since the civil terminal airport has limited parking bays, it came out in the meeting that connecting flights to Lucknow and Prayagraj would be a better option instead of providing direct flights. We expect positive development around Diwali,” Garg said.

According to AAI officials, the civil terminal currently witnesses 16 flights connecting to 50 cities, including Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jammu, Varanasi, Patna, Ahmedabad, Indore, Adampur, Nanded, Kishangarh, Ludhiana, and Bathinda.

AAI officials said there is a possibility that the flights to Lucknow and Prayagraj may also be added to the list of cities.

“Senior AAI officials during the meeting asked the airline operators to chalk out plans for connecting Lucknow and Prayagraj which are two popular routes and there is a lot of demand. The operators have sought some time to take up the plans and will revert to the AAI,” said Umesh Yadav, director of the civil airport.

The civil terminal is also poised for expansion, and the AAI officials have also requested 9-hectares for the purpose.

According to officials, the plan includes enhancement of internal and external facilities including additional parking bays, movement areas, and other infrastructure upgrades.

“During the meeting, the expansion plan was also discussed, and we told the AAI officials that we will ask the Ghaziabad district administration to expedite availability of the land,” Garg added.

On September 17, Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu during a visit to the civil airport, talked about the Hindon airport’s speedy development.

“The Hindon airport is fast developing, and we are also surprised that it is now connected to 16 cities in a very short time. The terminal is saturated, and we have planned to expand it. We are also in talks with the Indian Air Force to increase terminal bays. However, we face more demand, and we want to promote it further,” he added.

The terminal, which began operations in October 2019, serves passengers from Delhi, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, and other parts of western Uttar Pradesh.

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