The Union government-run Alliance Air on Monday launched a flight between Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Indore in Madhya Pradesh, which will operate four days a week, officials said.
Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel were present during the virtual launch of the inaugural flight in Bilaspur. The ATR 72-seater aircraft of Alliance Air took off from the Bilasa Devi Kevat Airport in Bilaspur for Indore around 11.35am with at least 50 passengers, said an official.
Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said the Centre has plans to set up around 200 airports, heliports and water aerodromes by 2026. The minister added that the Centre will extend all technical support for expansion of Bilaspur airport.
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“We are connecting the financial capitals of both Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh by launching Bilaspur-Indore flight,” said Scindia. “Through this flight, people of both states will be benefited.”
The Union minister further said that before he took charge of the civil aviation ministry, Indore had air connectivity with only 12 cities. But now, 20 cities are connected with Indore, he added.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there has been democratisation of air services. Earlier, there was a perception that only a particular section of people can fly, but now it has changed,” said Scinida. “The flight connectivity has increased and 433 new routes are now available and 68 airports or airdromes have been developed.”
{{/usCountry}}“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there has been democratisation of air services. Earlier, there was a perception that only a particular section of people can fly, but now it has changed,” said Scinida. “The flight connectivity has increased and 433 new routes are now available and 68 airports or airdromes have been developed.”
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He added that air connectivity in all states will be increased in future. Scindia also appealed to people to make maximum use of the flight service, citing the service which was started from Bilaspur earlier was suspended twice due to low number of passengers daily.
CM Baghel said his government was making all efforts to expand air services in Chhattisgarh and urged Scindia to start flight services from Bilaspur to metro cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. “The passenger flight between Bilaspur and Indore will accelerate development and benefit the people of Bilaspur division,” Baghel said.