Air India Express to operate its inaugural flight to Ayodhya on Dec 30

Air India Express will operate its inaugural flight to Ayodhya from the national capital on December 30 and will commence scheduled daily service on the route from January 16.

The Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport at Ayodhya has an extended runway suitable for A-321/B-737 type aircraft operations.

In a release on Wednesday, Air India Express said the inaugural flight IX 2789 on December 30 is scheduled to depart from Delhi at 1100 hours and land in Ayodhya at 1220 hours. From Ayodhya, IX 1769 is scheduled to depart for Delhi at 1250 hours and arrive at 1410 hours.

"Air India Express is excited to commence operations from Ayodhya right after the airport opens. This underlines our commitment to enhancing connectivity from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country," the airline's Managing Director Aloke Singh said.

The airline, a subsidiary of Air India, operates more than 300 flights daily. It has a fleet of 59 aircraft.

On December 14, aviation regulator DGCA issued the aerodrome licence for the upcoming Ayodhya airport, which has been developed at a cost of around Rs 350 crore by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

IndiGo, on December 13, said it will operate the inaugural flight from the national capital to Ayodhya airport on December 30 and the commercial services will commence from January 6.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on December 8, said the airport at Ayodhya will be ready by the end of this month and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the airport.