Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia flagged off the Ayodhya-Ahmedabad flight service ahead of the Ram Temple inauguration on January 22 and said Uttar Pradesh will get five more airports within a month, taking the total number of airports in the state to 19. Will go.
On December 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya. In the coming month, five new airports will be inaugurated in Uttar Pradesh, namely Azamgarh, Aligarh, Moradabad, Chitrakot and Shravasti, taking the total number of airports in the state to 19, as announced by Scindia.
IndiGo, which started services between Ayodhya and Delhi from January 11, will also operate flights between Ayodhya and Ahmedabad thrice a week, with plans to start Mumbai-Ayodhya flights from January 15.
Scindia virtually flagged off the flight from Ayodhya to Ahmedabad from the national capital, with the virtual event attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh and Lok Sabha members Lallu Singh and Kirit Premjibhai Solanki. According to Scindia, the Ayodhya airport will be expanded, which will also include an extended runway to accommodate larger aircraft and facilitate international flights.
Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath mentioned the anticipation of around 100 chartered flights at Ayodhya airport for the consecration ceremony of Ram temple on January 22. Emphasizing the impact of improved air services on tourism and trade, he noted a 30 percent increase in air passengers. This figure reached 96.02 lakh in the last financial year in the state.
Ayodhya, now a preferred destination, has seen improvement in road, rail and air connectivity, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision. The state government allotted 821 acres of land for the airport, and the Civil Aviation Ministry successfully developed a world-class facility within the stipulated time.
The Ayodhya airport, initially built over an area of 6,500 square metres, with a capacity of 600 passengers at peak hours, is set to be expanded. The second phase will increase passenger capacity by 3,000, and extend the runway from 2,200 to 3,700 meters to accommodate larger aircraft and international flights.
Scindia highlighted the significant growth in air connectivity in Uttar Pradesh in the last nine years, with weekly flight movements increasing from 700 in 2014 to 1,654 at present.