More flights needed on Darbhanga-Delhi route amid festivities: Bihar govt

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Friday said more flights were needed on the Darbhanga-Delhi route keeping in mind the heavy rush expected during Deepawali-Chhath festivities.

State minister Sanjay Kumar Jha, a key aide of the Bihar CM, also said that he had communicated the same to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia whom he met in Delhi recently.

The airport at Darbhanga has been the "most successful" among all the ones set up under the UDAAN scheme. But a person flying from the north Bihar town to the national capital has to cough up the same amount as someone who is flying from Delhi to Dubai, Jha told reporters here.

"This has been because SpiceJet, which has a monopoly on the route, cannot meet the demands. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has grounded 50 per cent of its fleet", the Bihar minister added.

"I have pleaded with Scindia that people must not be made to suffer on this account, especially during the upcoming festive season when heavy footfall is expected. Either SpiceJet should fly more planes or other carriers be permitted on the route", Jha said.

Situated about 150 km from the state capital, Darbhanga airport has been functional for the last couple of years.

Home to about 14 crore people, Bihar has only three functional airports, the other two being at Patna and Gaya.