National carrier Air India commenced operations to Hyderabad via Jabalpur from Bhopal under its 'Connect India' programme yesterday, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening regional connectivity.
Flight AI 9863 on Bhopal-Jabalpur-Hyderabad shall operate four days a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Air India said in a statement.
The flight will take-off from Bhopal at 0845 hrs and reach Jabalpur at 0950 hrs. It will take-off from Jabalpur at 1020 hrs for its onward journey and will arrive in Hyderabad at 1220 hrs.
The return flight AI 9864 will take-off from Hyderabad at 1250 hrs and will reach Jabalpur at 1450 hrs. The flight will leave Jabalpur at 1520 hrs and will touch down at Bhopal at 1625 hrs, it said.
Air India will commence another direct flight AI 9867/9868 between Bhopal and Jabalpur from June 16.
The flight will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it said.
(REOPENS DEL 66)
According to Lohani, some states even suggested that the national carrier could look at starting overseas flights from newer places.
Nagpur-Nashik, Raipur-Kolkata and Kolkata-Ahmedabad were among the virgin routes that were discussed during the meeting with representatives from the states.
The national carrier expects to have additional 100 aircrafts, including single aisle, wide body and regional jets, in the next four years.
Lohani said that many states were willing to offer VGF or other means of financial support to ensure that Air India does not incur losses by starting new flights for regional connectivity.
"We will not require VGF for all the flights as potential does exist for many of the routes that were suggested. But where VGF is required the states are willing to provide us funding," he noted.
