INDORE: Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday virtually inaugurated direct daily flights from Indore to Prayagraj, Jodhpur and Surat by IndiGo airlines.
With these new flights, Indore is now connected with 23 cities through the air route. Addressing the inaugural session through online mode Scindia said, “Before I was given the responsibility of the civil aviation ministry in July, weekly aircraft movement in Madhya Pradesh were 554, which has now jumped to 833, registering a jump of 50% in the last four months from July-October.”
Until July 8, the state was connected through air with 27 cities, which has now grown to 49 cities. With the increasing air connectivity from smaller cities such as Darbhanga in Bihar, Assam and Jharkhand among other states, the number of passengers flying by air has risen to 2 lakh per month.
Scindia said, “The aim is to develop airports in small cities. Airfares are coming down and in some cities airfares are cheaper than second class air-conditioned train tickets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants people wearing slippers to fly.”
Scindia also urged chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to allot 2,000 acres to develop a new domestic and international terminals and runways at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar airport in Indore .
The minister said the construction of two new aerobridges in Indore will be completed by March 2022, taking the total number of aerobridges to five in Indore.
Indore MP Shankar Lalwani has urged the Union minister to start direct air connectivity to Dehradun .
