Prayagraj-Bilaspur flight set to resume operations soon
Alliance Air, which provides domestic and chartered flight services, has sought permission from the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in this regard
After a gap of almost two months, the flight between Prayagraj and Bilaspur is set to restart soon for which the Alliance Air has made preparations, said officials.
Alliance Air, which provides domestic and chartered flight services, has sought permission from the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in this regard. However, the ticket sales have not yet started and the dates for the same are yet to be confirmed, they added.
Prayagraj Airport director Rajesh Kumar said that after the airline gets permission from DGCA, another approval from the Indian Air Force will be required before the flights are restored.
Alliance Air had stopped the air services between the two cities on March 28, citing a shortage of aircraft. During the same time, the private aviation company had also stopped the flights between Prayagraj and Pune as well.
Discontinuing the flights despite the passenger load being good, the matter of stopping the air services to Bilaspur and Pune and other major cities from Prayagraj’s Bamrauli airport had then reached Allahabad High Court through a public interest litigation filed by advocate Vineet Pandey. On May 18, the high court bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Vikas Budhwar sought reasons for the stoppage of air services.
However, at the time of the stoppage, a representative of Alliance Air had said that the Prayagraj-Bilaspur service was stopped due to technical snags in six of its 20 aircraft.
Currently, the active air services from Prayagraj are to Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Dehradun, Lucknow, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Indigo, Akasa Air and Air India are the three major airlines operating from here. Akasa Air is set to start a flight between Prayagraj and Mumbai from May 25.
Here, it is important to note that the Prayagraj Airport is the 4th busiest airport in Uttar Pradesh in terms of number of passengers handled and with the upcoming Mahakumbh-2025, the footfall is expected to increase considerably.
PHOTO: (HT File Photo)
