Star Air, aviation arm of the Sanjay Ghodawat Group, started the Jodhpur-Belagavi-Jodhpur flight under the UDAAN scheme in Belagavi on Tuesday.
The inaugural Belagavi-Jodhpur flight witnessed an overwhelming response with 100 % passenger load.
Sambra Airport director Rajesh Kumar Maurya, leaders, frequent fliers, executives of Star Air and Sanjay Ghodawat Group, AAI officers and others were present at the symbolic inaugural ceremony held amid COVID-19 protocol in Sambra Airport in Belagavi.
Chairman Sanjay D. Ghodawat said that it will connect more tier II and tier III cities under RCS-UDAN. “The overwhelming response we received for Ajmer (Kishangarh) route has encouraged us to connect more cities from Rajasthan. Jodhpur is a step in that direction.”
The commute time to cover the over 1,100 kilometres distance is only around two hours. Initially, the services will be available thrice a week. But this is likely to increase with demand.
Director, Star Air, Shrenik Ghodawat, said that the new route will “certainly augment the regional connectivity and also catapult trade and tourism.”
Belagavi happens to be an operational hub for Star Air and the airline has connected it to various Indian cities. Currently, it is offering flight services from Belagavi to the seven Indian cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Surat, Indore and Ajmer (Kishangarh). Jodhpur is the eighth Indian city connected to Belagavi.
Star Air offers scheduled flight services to 12 destinations — Ajmer (Kishangarh), Ahmedabad, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Delhi (Hindon), Hubballi, Indore, Kalaburagi, Mumbai, Nashik, Surat and Tirupati. In addition, it offers chartered flight services (both domestic and international) and cargo services, said a release.
