BELAGAVI: The much-awaited flight between Belagavi and Mumbai was finally launched by SpiceJet on Thursday under the Centre-sponsored UDAN scheme. For many industrialists and businessmen, air connectivity between the two cities is essential as they largely depend on Mumbai to run their units.
On the first day of its operation, the flight received a good response with 55 passengers onboard the 92-seater aircraft. According to official sources, a regular flight to Mumbai has been introduced due to high demand.
In the last few weeks, flights under UDAN were introduced from Belagavi to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad, besides other flights between Belagavi and Bengaluru. UDAN will connect Belagavi to at least 13 destinations in the first phase.
Belagavi MLA Abhay Patil, who handed over boarding passes to the passengers, said efforts are on to have a Boeing service between Belagavi and Mumbai. According to him, another flight between Belagavi and New Delhi is likely to be introduced soon.
Air connectivity from Belagavi to Mumbai will give a big boost to local industries and businesses, he said. A large section of people from north Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, who have been staying in Belagavi, are also expected to benefit from the UDAN flights.
According to sources, most flights introduced under UDAN from Belagavi are getting tremendous response on a regular basis. “After Hubballi airport was brought under UDAN last year, people from Belagavi were depending on these flights to travel to various places. However, after UDAN flights were started from Belagavi, regular passengers do not have to head to Hubballi airport anymore,” the source said.