Ahead Of Ram Mandir Inauguration, Air India Express To Operate First Flight To Ayodhya On 30 December

The first flight of Air India Express to Ayodhya from Delhi is set to operate on 30 December. Following this, daily scheduled services on this route will begin from 16 January.

This comes ahead of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on 22 January.

The extended runway at the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport in Ayodhya is equipped to accommodate operations of A-321/B-737 type aircraft.

Air India Express announced on Wednesday that the maiden flight IX 2789 is set to take off from Delhi at 11:00 am on 30 December, and is expected to arrive in Ayodhya by 12:20 pm. Following this, the flight IX 1769 will leave Ayodhya at 12:50 pm and is scheduled to reach Delhi by 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 airline's Managing Director Aloke Singh said.

Operating as a subsidiary of Air India, the airline runs over 300 flights every day with its fleet of 59 aircraft.

The aviation regulator DGCA granted the aerodrome license for the soon-to-be-opened Ayodhya airport on 14 December. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has developed this airport at an approximate cost of Rs 350 crore.

IndiGo announced on 13 December that it is set to operate the first flight from the national capital to Ayodhya airport on 30 December, with regular commercial services beginning on 6 January.

This follows Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's statement on 8 December that the Ayodhya airport will be operational by the end of the month and will be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.