New Delhi: In a big boost to regional air connectivity in the country, the Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Friday commenced the direct daily flight operations from Bhubaneswar to Varanasi under Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN).
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, Alliance Air will operate direct daily flights on Bhubaneswar-Varanasi route to cater to the need of pilgrims, tourists, students, businessmen and traders. The airline will deploy its 70-seater ATR 72 600 aircraft. The flight will take off from Bhubaneswar airport at 12:15pm and reach Varanasi at 14:05pm. Similarly, the flight will depart Varanasi at 14:30pm and arrive at Bhubaneswar at 16:20pm.
The ministry further stated that Alliance Air was awarded the Bhubaneswar-Varanasi route in the UDAN-3 bidding process, making it the 58th route commenced under the RCS-UDAN scheme by the airline. Being a part of the Buddhist tourism circuit, this route will have a cascading effect on the tourism industry of the city as tourism is Varanasi’s second most important industry.
It is to be mentioned here that the first flight under the UDAN scheme was flagged off April 27, 2017 by the Prime Minister. The ministry stated that the Bhubaneswar- Varanasi route is the 250th route being operationalised under the RCS–UDAN scheme.