Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], August 9 : Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav and others attended the flag-off ceremony of four new flight services from Raja Bhoj Airport at Bhopal.
The four new direct air services of the region include Bhopal-Rewa, Bhopal-Patna, Rewa-Kolkata and Jabalpur-Kolkata air routes, according to the CMO release.
Bhopal-Rewa direct flight service will strengthen air connectivity within the region. This will strengthen direct air connectivity between capital Bhopal and the Vindhya region. Similarly, Bhopal-Patna direct flight will directly connect the capital of Madhya Pradesh with the capital of Bihar.
Union Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary Sameer Kumar Sinha, Airport Authority of India Chairman Vipin Kumar, Alliance Air Chairman Amit Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Aviation, Sanjay Kumar Shukla, Aviation Commissioner Chandramouli Shukla, Bhopal Airport Director Alok Tripathi and other dignitaries were present in the program.
The introduction of these new services will further strengthen the intra- and inter-state air connectivity of the region. These services will be operated by Alliance Air. All these domestic airlines are being provided financial assistance under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Aviation Policy. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) up to Rs 10 lakh will be provided by the state government on each round trip, as per the release.
According to the release, this will facilitate movement between the two states and provide convenience to travellers, traders and businessmen with a large population of Bihar residing in Madhya Pradesh. The commencement of direct air services between Rewa-Kolkata and Jabalpur-Kolkata will strengthen the air connectivity of these two important cities of the region with Kolkata and East India.
So far 8 new air routes have been approved under the policy. Air services on four of these routes have not yet started, while services on four new routes are being started. The first routes launched under the policy include Rewa-Delhi, Rewa-Indore, Rewa-Raipur and Indore-Abu Dhabi, as stated in the release.