Darbhanga will be connected by flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, officials said (Representation)
Darbhanga:
Darbhanga Airport in northern Bihar began operations on Sunday, meeting long-standing demand from residents of the Mithila region who had to travel for hours to Patna to catch a flight.
When the first flight, operated by Spicejet, landed at Bengaluru Airport, it received the usual water salute, while passengers were greeted with ‘Mithila Paags’ (a traditional cap) and garlands.
The plane then took off for Delhi with 180 passengers, including BJP Deputy Darbhanga Gopaljee Thakur, Darbhanga City Lawmaker Sanjay Saraogi and MLC Dilip Chaudhary.
Darbhanga will be connected by flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, officials said. Locals will gain at least four to five hours of travel to and from Patna with the start of airport operations, officials added.
“This is a really good start. I hope that the infrastructure and other facilities at the airport will improve and flight service to other cities will start as well,” said a passenger who arrived from Bangalore.
One person, who came to see a relative at the airport, said that with the airport starting up, people won’t have to miss flights due to traffic jams when they travel to Patna. “There were times when we were stuck at Gandhi Setu because of the traffic jams. Besides, now we won’t have to go to Patna to receive someone or to see them go,” he said. .
Another man who was at the airport to receive his daughter said: “Today I will receive her in my hometown”.
The Indian Airports Authority developed the airport as a civilian enclave, which is part of an Indian Air Force base assigned to civil aviation operations, at Kevti, about six km from the city of Darbhanga.
The foundation stone for Darbhanga Airport, the third in the state after Patna and Gaya, was laid in December 2018.
The flights will be operated by Spicejet as part of the “Udan” regional connectivity program. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced in September that the airport would begin operations the first week of November before Chhath.
The airport terminal has a capacity of 150 passengers, he said.
Thakur, the local MP, said: “Residents of Mithila region are grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating flight service from Darbhanga. I also thank the Minister of Civil Aviation who started operations before Chhath Puja. “
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
