Lucknow, 25 March (HS) : Turning a new leaf in the regional air connectivity, Gorakhpur is now being connected to Uttar Pradesh as the flight between two cities commencing on March 28 next.
UP is the first state in the country, where five international airports are being built simultaneously. Even after 70 years of independence in the state, the most populous state had only four airports till 2017. Now Uttar Pardesh has eight operational airports while 13 more are being built.
According to a spokesperson of the state government with this new air connectivity, the air journey from Guru Gorakhnath Gorakhpur Airport to Lucknow can be made in an hour.
The spokesperson said that the travelers aboard inaugural flight coming from Gorakhpur will be given a grand welcome at Lucknow Airport. In fact, not only the people of Gorakhpur, but people of Nepal and Bihar state were also waiting for this flight for a long time, he said.
Number of passengers increased by more than 80 million
He said, only four airports were operated in the state in the year 2017 and a total of 25 destinations were connected with air services. Whereas eight airports have become operational in the last four years, providing air services to 61 destinations. As against 26.49 crore passengers in the year 2016-17, 34.46 crore passengers used air facility in 2018-19.
Only state to have five international airports
Accordind to the spokesperson by 2017, the country’s most populous state had only two International airports of Lucknow and Varanasi but UP will have three more international airports, Noida International Greenfield Airport, Jewar, Kushinagar and Ayodhya making it a total of five international airports.
Flights will soon start from Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad & Shravasti
He said that a total of 13 more airports and seven airstrips in the state are in the process of being activated. This effort will make Uttar Pradesh fly high in the field of civil aviation. The airstrips at Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad, Shravasti, Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra are selected for air services under the ‘Udaan’, the regional connectivity scheme of the central government. The airports at Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad and Shravasti are under development. While Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra airports are nearing completion. A budget of 101 crores is proposed for Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Airport being built in Ayodhya. Procurement of land for the airports at Saharanpur, Jhansi, Meerut and Lalitpur is also underway.
