Darbhanga airport among successes under UDAN scheme: Jyotiraditya Scindia

SpiceJet and IndiGo operate flights to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru from Darbhanga.

DARBHANGA: Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday spoke about the success of the Darbhanga airport under the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) scheme for regional airport development.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. (ANI)

“Darbhanga is one of our big historical cities. It is associated with Maithili culture. The airstrip there was built before independence and a private airline, Darbhanga Aviation, operated flights there from 1950 to 1962,” he said in Parliament. “When there was the outbreak of Covid, in just nine months, 5.75 lakh people travelled from there.”

Rajendra Kumar Mallik, a retired banker, and a frequent flyer, hoped Darbhanga will now get more flights. SpiceJet and IndiGo operate flights to Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru from Darbhanga.

Hira Kumar Jha, a Darbhanga resident, said the acquisition of 78-acre land for a permanent terminal building should be expedited. “People face difficulties due to lack of adequate facilities.”

According to the Airports Authority of India, the Darbhanga airport handled 28,585 flyers in January and 42,592 in February.