Indian stops flying on Delhi-Agra route: Patel

New Delhi, May 23: Alliance Air, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian Airlines, has stopped flying between Delhi and Agra, Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said today.

Due to severe constraints that Alliance was facing, it had to restructure and curtail some of its existing routes, he told the Rajya Sabha. Besides, air traffic between Delhi and Agra mainly consists of foreign tourists and is seasonal in nature.

Agra, the city of world famous Taj Mahal, is about 250 km from the national capital and well connected by road and rail, Mr Patel said in a written reply. Operations with jet planes in Indian's fleet are not commercially viable, he added.

Meanwhile, operations on Varanasi-Khajuraho-Varanasi route were on till March 25 and will resume again on October 1 to cater to seasonal traffic.

Indian is currently operating a daily flight on Mumbai-Delhi-Varanasi sector, the minister added.

UNI