BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh is flying high when it comes to air connectivity. In the past two months, around 44 new flights have been given to the state. Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has recently claimed to the media that he has started 44 new flights in the last 35 days from Madhya Pradesh.
Scindia — who joined the BJP in March last year after a 19-year career in the Congress — was rewarded with the civil aviation portfolio in the last restructure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of ministers last month. The portfolio was once handled by his father, Madhavrao Scindia.
Major cities benefited from the new flights are Gwalior, Jabalpur and Indore. During his recent visit to Indore, Scindia had said, “I am dedicated and it will be my endeavour to take India forward in the civil aviation sector under the leadership of the Prime Minister”. Notably, several newly added flights that have been started are under UDAN scheme.
When contacted, director airport (Gwalior), Ajay Shrivastava told TOI that weekly frequency of flights has been increased from 56 to 78 in the past two months.
“Cities like Pune, Ahmedabad and Mumbai were connected with Gwalior airport from July 16. From August 20, Mumbai and Jaipur will be connected. Besides, from September 1, Indore and Delhi will be connected.” He added that new flights have been started by SpiceJet and Indi-Go.
Sources added that a few more flights are on the cards which are likely to start by the end of this year.
“Connectivity with Gwalior has witnessed a major boost in the past few months. The frequency of flights from Gwalior airport per week will be increased from 78,” said a senior official without quoting his name. New cities to be connected with Gwalior include Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Jammu.
Incidentally, Bhopal has a frequency of 26 flights daily. At present, Bhopal is connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Prayagraj and Pune. Sources said that flights to Lucknow and Agra may also start soon.
“It is likely that Bhopal will be again connected with Raipur in the near future,” said an official without quoting his name.
Jabalpur has also witnessed a sudden boost in the flights’ movement. There were only 8 flights two months ago. Another 8 are being added.
“We will have 16 new flights by the end of this month,” said director Jabalpur airport, Kusum Das.
New flights for Mumbai and New Delhi will be launched from August 20. Besides, Indore and Hyderabad flights will take-off from August 28. From Indore, 6 new flights have been added. Surat and Gondia are the new destinations connected with Indore.
