Shirdi airport flying high as airlines look to expand

According to official information released by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) passenger capacity hasb been 80 per cent from the first month of the airport opening.

Shirdi airport, inaugurated by President Ramnath Govind on October 1, 2017, is flying to new heights.

According to official information released by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) passenger capacity hasb been 80 per cent from the first month of the airport opening.

CS Gupta, executive director, Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) , says, “There has been a phenomenal rate of passenger occupancy on Shirdi flights. While on weekdays, occupancy is above 60 per cent, on weekends, it is above 80 per cent. Being a popular temple town, more and more people are taking flights to Shirdi.”

Currently, Shirdi Airport handles a total of 14 flight operations.

A Spice Jet spokesperson requesting anonymity, confirmed plans to use a Boeing 737 from Shirdi to New Delhi in the future, which is a major step for a non-metropolitan airport, given the size of the 737 aircraft. Airlines have so far flown only 72-seater ATR aircraft to and from Shirdi airport.

Gupta added, “Spice Jet’s Boeing operation from Shirdi Airport will be a major achievement for us. The Boeing 737-700 can accommodate 144 passengers while the the 800 variant can accommodate 189 passengers.”

In the winter schedule commencing from the end of October, airlines have decided to increase flight operations, Gupta said, claiming flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai from Shirdi from October 28.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, “Shirdi Greenfield International Airport completes one successful year of operations today. I am happy that Shirdi airport is the first fully developed airport by the state agency MADC. In the last one year, it successfully operated over 1,500 flights and 70,000 passengers.”

Besides flight operations, MADC is also working on increasing the size of the terminal while it has already increased basic facilities at the airport like waiting chairs and trolleys. Currently, there are three ambulances stationed at Shirdi Airport.