Air India subsidiary Alliance Air on Friday started the Ranchi-Raipur flight as part of the Centre's regional connectivity scheme from the Birsa Munda Airport here.
The inaugural flight was flagged off by Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.
Today we flagged off the Ranchi-Raipur flight. The Ranchi-Kolkata flight will leave in the night, Sinha told a press conference after the inaugural flight.
On Saturday, Alliance Air will commence flight operations between Ranchi and Bhubaneswar.
Around 40 passengers boarded the inaugural Ranchi-Raipur flight while 60 passengers will board the Ranchi-Kolkata flight in the night, Sinha said.
"Three important cities are being connected with Ranchi by Raipur, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. There is a flight to Kolkata earlier too, but this flight will be convenient to the passengers as it will land in Ranchi from Kolkata in the morning and the passengers can return to Kolkata in the evening, Sinha said.
He said that the fares for these flights are almost the same as train fares, Sinha said.
One way fare from Ranchi to Kolkata and Raipur is Rs 1,999 while it is Rs 1,666 to Bhubaneswar.
During the last four years, the number of people travelling to these routes have grown rapidly, he said.
The number of passengers have grown from six lakh in 2014 to a projected 27 lakh in 2018.
"The passenger growth has increased four times, which is a significant growth. There were only 11 flights in 2014 and the number has increased to 27 flights in 2018, Sinha said.
Sinha said that the Deoghar Airport will be ready within the next 2-3 years and also expected Bokaro-Kolkata flight in the next 6-8 months.
Sinha said talks are on for a joint venture between the Jharkhand government and the Airports Authority of India for construction and operation of flights at Dalbhumgarh, Hazaribagh, Daltonganj/Palamau, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Dumka.
Ranchi MP and Chairman of Airport Advisory Committee sought flights from Ranchi to Ahmedabad and Lucknow.
Jharkhand Urban Development and Transport Minister C P Singh said talks were on to acquire 24 acre of land belonging to the Army to construct facilities at the Birsa Munda Airport.
Stating that offices and hotels along with parking space can be constructed after the acquisition of the 24-acre land, the Union minister added Ranchi Airport would become a economic engine for the city.
Sinha also expected international flights connecting Singapore or Dubai from Ranchi.
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