HUBBALLI: People from Dharwad and neighbouring districts can now fly directly to Delhi with IndiGo commencing its direct flight service between Hubballi and the National Capital on Monday. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi flagged off the maiden flight virtually from New Delhi and Hubballi, respectively.
As the Airbus A320 carrying 179 passengers landed at Hubballi Airport, it was welcomed with a water canon salute. According to the schedule, Flight No 6E 5624 will depart from Delhi at 10 am and reach Hubballi at 12.45 pm. Later, Flight No 6E 5625 will fly from Hubballi at 1.15 pm and land in Delhi at 3.45 pm.
This flight will not just help people of Dharwad district, but also has come as a boon for residents of north and central Karnataka regions.
Star Air already has a service to Hindon (Uttar Pradesh), which is near 40 km from Delhi Airport. However, it is a cumbersome exercise to travel to this airport from Delhi, particularly during peak hours. As the Airbus took off from Hubballi carrying 151 passengers, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi was one among them.
Another speciality of this service was the announcement made by First Officer Akshay Patil in Kannada. Hailing from Bailhongal in Belagavi district, Patil addressed the passengers in Kannada in north Karnataka dialect. A video of the announcement even went viral on social media.