MUMBAI: It’s raining good news for Sai Baba devotees. Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mumbai-Shirdi route for the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express, the Shirdi airport has got the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s nod for night landing.
This is the third important decision to boost connectivity. According to sources, the government has been putting in extra efforts to help devotees visit Shirdi at any time and from any place in India. The famed temple town is already well connected by road, especially after the Phase I of the Nagpur-Shirdi Samrudhi Mahamarg was inaugurated by Modi in December 2022. The rail connectivity also got better after the Vande Bharat launch. And now with the civil aviation regulator’s permission for night service, devotees from all over the country will be able to attend the 4.00 am mangal aarti.
Confirming the DGCA nod for night landing, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted: “Hat-trick of Good news for SaiBhakts and for Maharashtra! After Samruddhi Mahamarg, Vande Bharat Express, now our Shirdi airport gets the ‘Night landing’ licence from DGCA this morning!” He added that the night flights are expected to start as early as next month.