Boost to trade, tourism as Hindon- Kalaburagi direct flight services begin; Check schedule

Direct flight between Karnataka’s Kalaburagi and Hindon, Uttar Pradesh in the NCR has been commenced as the maiden flight was flagged off today. The flight is being operated under Regional Connectivity Scheme–Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN). So far, 295 routes and 53 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.

Hindon-Kalaburagi flight schedule: The non-stop flight is scheduled to take off from Kalaburagi at 10.20 am and will arrive at 12.40 pm at Hindon every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The return flight will depart from Hindon at 1.10 pm and reach Kalaburagi at 3.30 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

Star Air airline, which was awarded the Kalaburagi-Hindon route under the RCS-UDAN-3 bidding process in 2019, has deployed 50-seater Embraer-145 aircraft. With the addition of the Kalaburagi – Hindon route, there will be 16 routes under the ambit of RCS-UDAN for Star Air.

Hindon-Kalaburagi to cut down travel time, boost trade, tourism

Until now, the people had to face tremendous inconvenience to cover the journey from Kalaburagi to Hindon. Due to the unavailability of direct flight operations between the two cities, people had to travel either by road or had to opt for rail travel, which took more than 25 hours to cover the distance of 1600 km. Now, they can take a direct flight and cover this long-distance journey in just 2-hour 20 minutes. Many people travel frequently between these two cities for personal as well as professional purposes. People from Bijapur, Solapur, Bidar, Osmanabad, Latur, Yadgir, Ranga Reddy, Medak would also receive the direct benefit from the flight operations on Kalaburagi – Hindon route, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

Located at a distance of less than 30 km from New Delhi, Hindon airport belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the land was handed over to AAI for the development of a new civil enclave. IAF granted necessary permissions for the usage of the airbase for civilian flights under UDAN scheme. Kalaburagi, which is known for its culture and is a gateway for tourist destinations including Buddha Vihar, Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Khwaja Banda Nawaz Dargah and, Gulbarga Fort, is now connected with New Delhi, the capital of India with direct flights for the first time. This will act as a catalyst to boost the trade and tourism of the region, the Central government said in the statement.