Civil Aviation Minister flags off inaugural flight connecting Bareilly with Mumbai

Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Joint Secretary, MoCA Smt. Usha Padhee alongside other officials of the MoCA & AAI were also present during the flag-off event.

Shri Nand Gopal Gupta, Civil Aviation Minister, Uttar Pradesh, Dr Arun Kumar, Member of Legislative Assembly, Bhartiya Janata Party (MLA, BJP), Sh Bharan Lal Maurya, MLA BJP, Shri Rajesh Kumar Mishra, MLA BJP, and Shri Nitish Kumar, District Magistrate, Bareilly along with other officials of State Government of Uttar Pradesh graced the event virtually from Bareilly.

Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, said, “Today marks another momentous day for the civil aviation sector of the country. The commencement of the flight operations on the Bareilly – Mumbai route from today & Bareilly – Bangalore route from 14^th August 2021 will not only improve transportation facilities in the region but will also open immense opportunities in tourism, education, industry and trade and commerce for the region. Moreover, we are also increasing the frequency of operations to daily between Delhi-Bareilly from 26th August 2021. These direct flights will not only benefit the people of Bareilly but also from the neighbouring regions such as Nainital & Ranikhet also.”

The Bareilly airport has been upgraded for commercial flight operations under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of the Government of India. On 8^th March 2021, it became the 56^th airport to commence operations under the UDAN scheme, with an all-women crew flight on the Delhi-Bareilly route. Now, Mumbai is the second city connected with Bareilly with direct flights and direct connectivity of the city to Bangalore will be third city.

Bareilly is the 8^th airport of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Hindon, Agra and Prayagraj. The Trishul Military Airbase, Bareilly belongs to the Indian Air Force and the land was handed over to the Airport Authority of India for construction of the interim civil aviation operations. The upgradation was undertaken by the AAI with a cost of Rs. 65 crores.

Lakhs of people visit Bareilly for the NathNagri (known for the four Shiva temples located in four corners of the region – DhopeshwarNath, MadniNath, AlakhaNath and TrivatiNath), Ala Hazrat, Shah Sharafat Miyan and Khankahe Niyazia, Zari Nagari and historically important sites like as Sanjashya (where the Buddha descended from Tushita to earth). The city is also a centre for furniture manufacturing and cotton, cereal, and sugar trading. Apart from enhancing the aerial connectivity of Bareilly and its neighbouring regions, the flight operations will boss trade, tourism, and local economy with direct connectivity with the trade capital of the country – Mumbai in Maharashtra & technology hub of the country – Bangalore in Karnataka.

The operationalization of this route aligns with the objectives of the Sab Uden Sab Juden initiative of the Government of India that aims to strengthen the aerial connectivity of the Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities of the country with the metros.

Till date, 363 routes and 59 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.

The number of domestic passengers is on the rise as flying emerges as a preferred, safe & time-saving mode of transport. On 11 August 2021, 1,98,495 passengers travelled on 1,798 flights. Total flight movement was 3,592 & total passenger movement was 3,95,143.

Flights commenced effective 12^th August 2021 for Mumbai and 14^th August 2021 for Bengaluru:

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