Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Saturday that his ministry is working to improve air connectivity between Gujarat and the country’s financial capital, Mumbai.
He was in Keshod, in the state’s Junagadh district, to inaugurate the upgraded airport and to flag off an Alliance Air flight to Mumbai as part of the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN scheme.
He stated that Keshod airport was built in 1930 by the then-Nawab of Junagadh and and was lying unused before Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to revive it. Revived by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an investment of Rs 25 crore, the airport at Keshod will see its first flight connecting it to Mumbai, with Scindia adding that Keshod will soon get connected by air to Ahmedabad as well.
”In the coming days, we plan to provide maximum connectivity to Gujarat,” Scindia said at the programme attended by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and State Civil Aviation Minister Purnesh Modi.
”When on March 27, I announced the summer schedule, three new flights from Ahmedabad, to Amritsar, Agra, and Ranchi, were announced. At the same time, we have connected Porbandar and Rajkot with Mumbai. We are connecting every corner of Gujarat with the country’s financial capital,” he said.
He stated that two greenfield airports with annual capacities of 25 lakh and 30 lakh passengers will be built in Gujarat. Scindia stated that his ministry was present to meet the demands of the CM and the state civil aviation minister regarding air connectivity, in addition to two greenfield airports, five new flights, and flights from Mumbai and Ahmedabad to Keshod.
Scindia announced that a flight connecting Porbandar and New Delhi will begin operations on April 27. Scindia stated that the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had taken steps and had “democratised” flights by making them affordable to ordinary people.