Maharashtra: 5 months after take off, Flybig stops operations from Gondia airport

NAGPUR: In a setback to Vidarbha’s aviation sector, Flybig Airlines has wound up its operations from Gondia’s Birsi airport. The operator had started its first flight from the airport on March 13 this year with much fanfare on Indore and Hyderabad routes.
It was inaugurated by union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. As per flyers, the operator abruptly stopped the flights from August second week on the pretext of maintenance and repairs. Gurugram-based Big Charter Private Limited, which operates Flybig, had inked a pact to continue its services till October this year on this route. It received good response for both routes, where it operated a single aircraft that used to take off from Gondia and land at Indore and then at Hyderabad.
The flyers were mostly from business community in Gondia and adjoining districts, who later demanded the operator to start direct flights to Mumbai and Pune as they have to travel all the way to Nagpur for this. Even flyers from adjoining states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh used to book the flight from Gondia. The fare was kept affordable as the flight was run under central government’s ‘Udan RCS (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik Regional Connectivity Scheme)’. Officials who worked with the operator told TOI that there were multiple reasons behind Flybig’s exit. They blamed Airports Authority of India (AAI) authorities of deliberately harassing the pilots by not providing them with a landing facility citing cloudy weather. More often, the flight was diverted to Indore or other airports, and it led to escalation of fuel cost, the officials said.
Even preferred parking slots were not provided to the operator, despite repeated demands. Subsequently, the operator went into losses and due to non-cooperation from Airports Authority of India (AAI) authorities, decided to shut down its operations, as per the officials.
Flyers said Flybig Airlines's officials had assured to restart the services from August 21. But the flight hasn't taken off till date from Gondia and even bookings were stopped, they said and added that the operator has closed the office near the airport and took away all the furniture and material.
TOI tried to contact Flybig founder and managing director Capt Sanjay Mandavia, but he refused to comment stating that he was abroad. He also did not respond to the text message in this regard.
Refuting the allegations, Birsi airport director Shafiq Shah told TOI that Flybig officials were blaming AAI for no reason, and "it had absolutely no role to play in the entire issue". He said the operator bagged a lucrative deal to fly in the northeast and shifted base to Agartala. "The operator has started flights from Agartala to Itanagar and Kolkata," aid Shah.
Justifying decision to divert flights, Shah said, "During the rainy season, the visibility drops below 5,000 metres and, therefore, we need to divert flights to prevent any eventuality as per rules framed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. These rules are being followed by every airport in India. We cannot do anything if the weather is bad. There is no point in blaming AAI for discontinuation of flights," he said.