PM Modi to inaugurate international airport in Ayodhya on 30 Dec; Air India Express & Indigo to start inaugural flights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating first of its kind Ayodhya airport or the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport on 30 December, 2023. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will also be present on the day of the inauguration of international airport in Ayodhya. Air India Express and Indigo will start inaugural flights to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh from New Delhi on 30 December. The scheduled daily services on the route will start from 16 January, less than a week ahead of the much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple which is scheduled for 22 January, 2024. Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra has decided to enthrone the idol of Lord Ram at the sanctum sanctorum between noon and 12:45 pm on 22 January, 2024. PM Modi will attend the inauguration of the temple in Ayodhya with Lakshmi Kant Dixit, a Vedic priest, and is scheduled to perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony on the day. Ayodhya aiport The Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport at Ayodhya has an extended runway suitable for A-321/B-737 type aircraft operations. Air India Express, in a release on Wednesday, said the inaugural flight IX 2789 on 30 December is scheduled to depart from New Delhi at 1100 hours (11:00 am) and land in Ayodhya at 1220 hours (12:20 pm). From Ayodhya, IX 1769 is scheduled to depart for Delhi at 1250 hours (12:50 pm) and arrive at 1410 hours (02:10 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 airline’s Managing Director Aloke Singh said. On 14 December, aviation regulator DGCA issued the aerodrome licence for the upcoming Ayodhya airport, which has been developed at a cost of around Rs 350 crore by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). IndiGo, on December 13, said it will operate the inaugural flight from the national capital to Ayodhya airport on 30 December and the commercial services will commence from 6 January. With inputs from PTI