Delhi To Ayodhya In 80 Minutes; Air India Starts Flights Ahead Of Ram Mandir Inaugural

Air India Express is set to launch its first flight to Ayodhya from Delhi on December 30, with regular daily services scheduled to begin on the route starting January 16.

As per a report in PTI, the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport at Ayodhya has an extended runway suitable for A-321/B-737 type aircraft operations.

The airport will be inaugurated before the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Air India Express announced that the inaugural flight, IX 2789 on December 30, is planned to take off from Delhi at 11:00 AM and touch down in Ayodhya at 12:20 PM. Subsequently, flight IX 1769 is slated to depart from Ayodhya to Delhi at 12:50 PM, with an expected arrival time of 2:10 PM.

"Air India Express is excited to commence operations from Ayodhya right after the airport opens. This underlines our commitment to enhancing connectivity from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country," the news agency quoted the airline's Managing Director Aloke Singh as saying.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the aerodrome license for the upcoming Ayodhya airport on December 14. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has developed the airport at an approximate cost of Rs 350 crore.

IndiGo announced on December 13 that it will operate the inaugural flight from the national capital to Ayodhya airport on December 30. Commercial services are scheduled to commence from January 6.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on December 8, said the airport at Ayodhya will be ready by the end of this month and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the airport.

As a subsidiary of Air India, the airline conducts over 300 daily flights and possesses a fleet comprising 59 aircraft.