DGCA issues a permit for Ambikapur airport to commence flight operations
Photo: Bloomberg (representative)
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued the airport permit for Ambikapur airport in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district to start flight operations, officials said on Saturday.
Maa Mahamaya Airport, Ambikapur, has been developed in the 3-C VFR category to expand air services in the state, a public relations department official said.
An application for a permit to start air services from the airport was submitted to the DGCA in December 2022. The aviation regulator on Friday granted the permit to the state government for Ambikapur Airport, he said.
With this, the state now has three licensed airports – Bilaspur, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur under the Regional Connectivity Program (RCS), he added.
The license has paved the way for operating 72-seater flights from Ambikapur, he added.
The state government has already made efforts to start air services from Ambikapur Airport to Raipur, Bilaspur, Lucknow, Patna and Ranchi.
With the commencement of flights from Ambikapur, tourism and commercial activities in the northern region of the state will get a boost and facilitate the development of the region, the official said.
Meanwhile, the state government on Friday also signed a Memorandum of Understating (MoU) with the Centre-run Alliance Air to start regular commercial flight services from Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) to Delhi and Kolkata, and Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) to Delhi via Jabalpur. at the end of this month, he noted.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the flight services from Bilaspur to Delhi and Kolkata on March 12, while the Delhi-Jabalpur-Jagdalpur-Jabalpur-Delhi flight service was also launched on the same day, the official said.
Now, after the pact, flight services on the three routes will be regular from the end of the month, he added.
According to the MoU, the state will provide financial support to the airline to compensate for the loss based on the cost-revenue model in case of non-availability of passengers on the flights.
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First print: March 16, 2024 | 3:01 PM IST