The Ministry of Civil Aviation gave permission to Alliance Air, Air India’s subsidiary, to operate flights from the new airport at Chipi in Sindhudurg district, under the government’s regional connectivity scheme — Udey Desh ka Aam Nagarik (UDAN).

In a statement issued on Monday, civil aviation minister, Suresh Prabhu, said, “When the airport operations commence, the Konkan region will witness a boost in tourism and ancillary benefits such as trade growth leading to job opportunities, improved standard of living and greater purchasing power among the people of the region.”

The ₹520-crore airport has received clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and is expected to ferry tourists to Konkan and Goa. Routes connecting Chipi airport to Pune, Mumbai and Nashik were approved under UDAN 3.1, after bids from airlines were invited in last month.

The ministry did not announce when flight operations will start at Chipi airport but officials who are close to the developments said the airport could be inaugurated after the general elections.

The airport has been constructed by IRB Infrastructure Developers for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. A successful trial run was completed in September using a 10-seater Falcon 2000 aircraft. The terminal building will be able to handle 400 passengers per hour, with an annual passenger capacity of around 10 lakh and a runway length which is suitable for operations of Airbus A-320 and Boeing B737 type of aircraft. The ministry said apron, taxiway, isolation bay, boundary wall, fire station, security cabin and watch tower have been built.

First Published: Apr 02, 2019 00:44 IST