Raipur may soon have direct Air India (AI) flight connectivity to New Delhi, Bhopal and Pune.
The Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of Air India Ashwani lohani who called on Chief Minister Raman Singh here on Saturday has agreed 'in principle' for introducing the flights, officials informed.
In a discussion held with lohani, Chief Minister Raman Singh informed him that the State is developing fast and many national-level institutions are operating in Raipur.
“The State had witnessed quantum growth in industrial activity which had resulted in phenomenal rise in the number of air travellers. Under these circumstances, Air India should begin direct flight to cities like Bhopal, Pune and New Delhi from Raipur as the origin station,” he had suggested.
The Chief Minister also assured that if Air India wants to develop a ‘principal hub’ for its small aircraft fleet traffic in Raipur then the Chhattisgarh government will extend all possible help.
Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Aman Kumar Singh and Director of State Aviation Department Rajat Kumar were also present on the occasion.
Notably, State Minister for Urban Administration and Development Amar Agrawal in January this year had also proposed the idea of direct flights to China from Raipur during his meeting with Consul General of People’s Republic of China MA Zhanwu.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already commenced work for getting an international tag for Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur.
AAI is taking up runway extension work as well as expansion of Apron suitable for 'C type' category of Aircraft at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur.
There are also plans to carry out resurfacing of the existing runway at the Airport, officials stated.
The current runway length is 2286 meters and would be extended by another 965 meters, Swami Vivekananda Airport Director Santosh Dhoke told The Pioneer in November last year.
Detailed estimates for taking up the extension work is under preparation for tender action, he had stated , adding, the entire tendering process would take place during the next two to three months and it would take another one or two months to award the work for execution of the project.
AAI has also decided to further expand passenger amenities at the integrated terminal of Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur.
Notably, there had been a quantum jump in the number of passenger arrivals at the Swami Vivekananda Airport during the past two years, official stated.
It may be recalled that the Chhattisgarh government is also trying hard to get air connectivity for all its key cities besides getting international flights operated from Raipur at the earliest.
The Centre in its bid to develop 50 airports in the country has already included the industrial cities of Bilaspur and Raigarh in its plans for expanding aviation services in Chhattisgarh, officials stated.
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh is set to gain immensely from Centre’s recent proposed formulation of Regional Connectivity Scheme to promote regional air connectivity in Indian airports by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The Chhattisgarh government is also keen on expansion of the Korba Airport in this industrial city to enable generation of sizeable passenger traffic from the airport. The airport needs extension for licensing for Class-2C operations in visual flight regime only due to obstruction around airport area, officials stated.