Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, MoS, Civil Aviation along with General Dr. V K Singh (Retd.) virtually flagged off the first direct flight operations between Jamnagar (Gujarat), to Bengaluru (Karnataka) & Hyderabad (Telangana) under the RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme — Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) of the Government of India. Jawaharbhai Chavda – Minister of Tourism Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Minister of Civil Aviation, Gujarat, Poonamben Hematbhai Maadam, Member of Parliament, Jamnagar, alongside R C Faldu, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Raghavjibhai Hansrajbhai Patel, MLA also graced the flag off event virtually.
Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, along with the senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) were also present at the launch of the flight operations. Operationalising of this route expands the aerial connectivity of Jamnagar to three major cities of India that includes Mumbai (Maharashtra), Bengaluru & Hyderabad.
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation said, “I am happy to announce the kick-starting of regional connectivity from Jamnagar under UDAN. From today, M/s Star Air will operate first time direct flights between Jamnagar and Bengaluru including flights between Jamnagar and Hyderabad under UDAN. Jamnagar is the perfect blend of trade, cultural, and religious hubs. Moreover, I am delighted to announce that we are planning to commence 10 more additional flights from Gujarat under UDAN. The UDAN scheme envisioned by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been a game-changer for the civil aviation sector of the country.”
Jamnagar is also called the “Chhoti Kashi” due to the presence of more than 100 temples. Jamnagar is well known for its four marble Jain temples: Vardhman Shah Temple, Raisi Shah Temple, Sheth Temple, and Vasupujya Swami Temple; all built between 1574 and 1622. Furthermore, Jamnagar is also called Gateway city to one of the Chard Dhams – Mokshapuri city – Dwarka.
Due to the non-availability of any direct mode of air or rail connectivity, people were compelled to spend long travel hours to reach these cities. Availability of direct flight between Jamnagar and Bengaluru will drastically cut down the travel time to 135 minutes from earlier 07 hours taken for air travel using connecting flights via Mumbai. Alternate option of road travel between these two cities also takes over 30 hours while train travel takes around 20 hours.
Likewise, the completion of the entire journey took more than 1 day to reach Hyderabad from Jamnagar by train and road travel or vice-versa. Due to the non-connectivity of direct flights between these two cities, it took more than 06 hours for air travel using connecting flights. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 130 mins.
Star Air was awarded the above routes during the UDAN 3 bidding process. The airlines are being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the UDAN scheme to keep the fares affordable & accessible for the common people. The airline will be operating thrice-weekly flights on the route and will deploy its 50-seater Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft. The route marks the commencement of the 32nd UDAN route by the airline.
Till date, 369 routes and 60 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.
