Government-owned Alliance Air said it has commenced flight services to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Keshod in Junagadh district of Gujarat under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, an official release said.
The inaugural flight on the new route was flagged off by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Keshod Airport, which is near Asiatic Lion's abode Gir, on Saturday, it said.
At present, it takes about 16 hours to travel by road from Keshod to Mumbai but with the introduction of air services between the two destinations, the travel time will reduce to just one hour and 25 minutes, as per the release.
"In the airline's summer schedule this year, Ahmedabad has been connected to three cities- Amritsar, Agra and Ranchi. Similarly, Porbandar and Rajkot have been connected with Mumbai. Apart from starting the new flight route today, we will also connect Keshod with Ahmedabad," the release quoted Scindia as saying.
He added that two new greenfield airports are also to be constructed in Hirasar and Dholera with a capacity to handle 23 lakh and 30 lakh passengers per year, respectively, with a budget allocation of Rs 1,405 crore and Rs 1,305 crore respectively.
