The flight service started between Dehradun and Pithoragarh, to operate three times a week

The flight service between Dehradun-Pithoragarh is operated 3 days a week, Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

The flight connecting the two cities is operated by Fly Big.

Flight between Dehradun and Pithoragarh: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Tuesday virtually inaugurated a UDAN flight connecting Dehradun and Pithoragarh from New Delhi. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami also participated in the event from Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

The flight connecting the two cities will be operated by “Fly Big” under the RCS UDAN Scheme. Pithoragarh Airport has been developed under the UDAN-RCS programme, at a cost of Rs 6.68 Crore, into a 2B VFR airport. The RCS flight between Dehradun and Pithoragarh was awarded under UDAN 4.2. Fly Big will use a 19-seat Twinotter DHC6-400 aircraft to transport passengers. The flight will initially operate 3 days a week.

The operation of this new route will improve regional connectivity and promote trade, commerce and tourism between these cities, and the distance of approximately 11 hours will be covered in just 1 hour.

In his inaugural address, Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the flight service between Dehradun-Pithoragarh will be operated three days a week (Monday, Tuesday and Friday). He said: “As a result of the start, the road distance of approximately 11 hours will be covered in just 1 hour. This flight service will enhance the tourism potential of Pithoragarh and adjoining areas and connect the eastern regions of Uttarakhand with the capital Dehradun, including Almora, Chinyalisaur, Gauchar, Sahastradhara, New Tehri and Haldwani Heliports, among others. Building on the work being done under the UDAN programme, he said the development of Dharchula, Haridwar, Joshimath, Mussoorie, Nainital and Ramnagar heliports is also being done.

He said, “We have also identified five other heliports under the UDAN 5.1 Round including Bageshwar, Champawat, Lansdowne, Munsiyari and Triyogi Narayan heliports. Development work on these five other heliports will also be initiated soon.”

Scindia added, “So far, 76 routes have been awarded under UDAN for the state of Uttarakhand, of which 40 routes, including Dehradun-Pithoragarh, have been operationalized. It is our aim that the other routes will also become operational soon. In addition, we recently inaugurated the Dehradun Interim Terminal Building; the work of the full-fledged building will be completed soon.”

Talking about the development work at Dehradun airport, Scindia said, “Developed at a cost of Rs 457 crore, the total area of the new terminal building is 42,776 square meters and this terminal building can handle 1800 passengers during peak hours and 36.5 lakh passengers per annum.” Elaborating on the impact of infrastructure development, he said that in 2014 only 86 flights per week were operated from here. Today, 210 flights operate from here, representing an increase of 144%.”