Shirdi (Mahanagar): After multiple delays Shirdi Airport finally became operational after it was inaugurated on Sunday by President of India Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries.
The President's aircraft arrived at Shirdi airport from New Delhi at 10:30 in the morning after which he immediately inaugurated the new structure and flagged off an Alliance Air flight, airport sources said.
President Kovind said the new airport would help pilgrims and visitors, besides triggering economic activities and creating jobs in the region.
Alliance Air, the regional arm of state-run carrier Air India, will fly to Shirdi from Mumbai and Hyderabad. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched the flight by giving boarding passes to passengers, along with Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal and senior Air India officials, the carrier said in a statement.
The inauguration of the much publicised airport was supposed to be inaugurated few years before. But, the inauguration got delayed because of various reasons including issues with land allotment.
The inauguration of the airport, developed by Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC), also marks the start of the year-long centenary celebrations of Saibaba temple for which over 11 million pilgrims are expected from around the world.
In August 2016, the Civil Aviation Ministry and Airports Authority of India had promised that the Shirdi Airport will be operational by November 2016. However the promise remained a dream.
In December 2016, the Maharashtra government today decided to allot land to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for setting up aviation fuelling point.
Shirdi Airport began its operation with a flight from Shirdi to Mumbai. The second flight was from Shirdi to Hyderabad.
"The flight AI 9654, a 72-seater ATR 72-600, took off from Shirdi airport at 10:30 am and landed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 11:15 am," Maharashtra Airport Development Company Vice Chairman and Managing Director Suresh Kakani said.
Located 238 kilometres from Mumbai, Shirdi has a shrine of Sai Baba and is a major pilgrimage location. Some 60,000 pilgrims visit Shirdi everyday, sources said, of which the airport authorities plan to tap at least 10-12 per cent.
Built with an investment of Rs. 350 crore, including Rs. 50 crore from Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, the airport has a 2,500-metre-long runway and is capable of handling single narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
The 2,750-square-metre terminal building has been designed to handle a total of 300 passengers, including arriving ones. Once airport operations start, travel time to Shirdi from Mumbai is expected to be cut to 40 minutes as against five hours by road.
"The flight AI 9653 will depart Mumbai at 08.30 am to reach Shirdi at 09.15 am. The return flight will depart Shirdi at 09.45 am and arrive in Mumbai at 11.05 am on Wednesday, Friday and Sundays," Air India said in the statement.
On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday it will leave Mumbai at 03:15 pm to arrive in Shirdi at 04:00 pm and, leave Shirdi at 04:30 pm to arrive in Mumbai at 05:15 pm.
Air India said the Hyderabad-Shirdi route will also be serviced by a 72-seater plane on all days except Thursday.
Post Comments
| Quick links