 "SpiceJet halts Hyderabad-Ayodhya flights, less than 2 months after launch")
SpiceJet has ceased its direct flights between Hyderabad and Ayodhya, effective June 1, barely two months after the route was inaugurated on April 2. The flight that ran thrice a week service, operated until May 30, before closing operations, according to a report by The Hindu.
Currently, passengers travelling from Hyderabad to Ayodhya using SpiceJet will face a layover at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, extending the total flight time to seven hours and 25 minutes.
The airline utilised an Airbus A320 for this route. Flight SG 611 departed from Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at 10:45 am, arriving at Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki International Airport at 12:45 pm. The return flight, SG 616, left Ayodhya at 1:25 pm and landed in Hyderabad at 3:25 pm.
On March 31, Telangana BJP Chief G Kishan Reddy, then the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, shared a letter on social media platform X, dated February 26, advocating for a direct connection between Hyderabad and Ayodhya. He highlighted the immense religious significance of Ayodhya for devotees and the inconvenience posed by the lack of direct flights.
An airline representative indicated that poor ticket sales may have been the cause of the discontinuation.
"Initially, there was significant enthusiasm for visiting Ayodhya, but it gradually declined," the representative told The Hindu.
Also Read
However, SpiceJet has not made any public comment regarding this decision yet.
Reduction in direct SpiceJet flights to Ayodhya
As of February, SpiceJet connected eight Indian cities to Ayodhya. However, the airline has since terminated direct flights from six of these cities: Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Patna, Darbhanga, and Hyderabad.
Presently, SpiceJet only offers direct flights to Ayodhya from Ahmedabad and Delhi.
SpiceJet ongoing legal and operational Issues
SpiceJet has been embroiled in disputes with aircraft lessors, alongside an ongoing conflict with KAL Airways and Kalanithi Maran, from whom the airline is seeking a Rs 450 crore refund. The Delhi High Court has granted SpiceJet until June 17, 2024, to return two aircraft and engines along with technical records to TWC Aviation Capital Limited. The airline asserted that there would be "no material impact on operations of the Company due to return of these aircraft as these have been grounded for an extended period."
Decline in tourism in Ayodhya
The initial surge in tourism to Ayodhya, spurred by the Ram Mandir inauguration, has significantly waned. According to an ANI report earlier this week, e-rickshaw drivers in Ayodhya have expressed disappointment over the reduced tourist influx following the Lok Sabha election results. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the Faizabad seat to the Samajwadi Party's Awadhesh Prasad Singh, just four months after the temple's inauguration.
E-rickshaw drivers lamented their declining earnings, which dropped from Rs 500-800 to barely Rs 250 per day.
The discontinuation of the Hyderabad-Ayodhya route by SpiceJet may, therefore, reflect broader challenges faced by the airline as well as the fluctuating demand for travel to Ayodhya.