Private carrier Indigo Airlines has started its direct flights from Gorakhpur, the parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, to New Delhi. The flight was flagged off by the chief minister in the presence of the Union civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu, his deputy Jayant Sinha, Union minister of state for finance Shiv Pratap Shukla and state’s civil aviation minister Nand Gopal ‘Nandi’.
The 180-seater aircraft will fly daily between the two cities. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the service, the chief minister said not long ago the Gorakhpur airport resembled a road-side eatery, but with the cooperation from the Union government, the state government in a very short time has done a swift and complete makeover of the facility.
“When we came to power, there were only regular flights from three airports in the state and we are now in a situation that very soon flights will be operating from 22 places in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
With the launch of the services of the Indigo Airlines, three flights operate between New Delhi and this eastern UP hub. SpiceJet and Air India already have flights from Gorakhpur. The Gorakhpur terminus built at a cost of INR 22.5 crore has a seating capacity for 200 persons, four check-in counters and two X-ray machines, an official said.