Shirdi Airport gets busy with 22 flight operations per day in one year’s time
PUNE: It has only been one year since the inauguration of the Shirdi Airport on October 1, 2017, the airport has already become one of the success stories for the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) with 22 flight operations per day.
CS Gupta, executive director, MADC said, “With the commencement of the Chennaishirdi direct Spice jet flight from January 10, the Shirdi airport will handle a total of 11 craft movements. Thus, with a total of 22 flight operations per day, it is indeed considered as one of the success stories of the MADC.”
According to Gupta, phenomenal rate of passenger occupancy on Shirdi flights has been a major reason for the good statistics of flight operations from the Shirdi airport.
He said, “While on weekdays, occupancy is above 60 per cent, on weekends, it is above 80 per cent. Being a popular temple town, more and more people are taking flights to Shirdi.”
While in the last one year, the Shirdi airport has successfully operated over 1,500 flight operations and 70,000 passengers, the number is expected to increase significantly as in the near future, direct flights from major cities like Jaipur, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Bangalore are about to connect Shirdi, informed Gupta adding that Spice jet airlines is also asking for space at the airport for night parking. He said, “Owing to the early morning prayers at the Sai baba temple in Shirdi, airlines are interested in operations in the night as well which will bring the devotees to Shirdi in the early morning and take them back to the respective destinations, thus further increasing the operations from the airport.” Meanwhile, MADC is also working towards the night-landing facility at the airport.
“While we expect the facility to be ready by March next year, however it might take some more time as the night landing facility needs the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s approval. We hope the airport will be a 24 hour facility by the end of April 2019” said senior MADC official requesting anonymity. Located at Kakadi village, about 14 km south west of the town of Shirdi, the airport is spread over 400 hectares and currently connects Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad with daily flight operations.