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

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%.”

In addition to its contribution to Operation Ajay, SpiceJet also operated ten additional special evacuation flights just for Thai nationals stuck in Tel Aviv amid the ongoing Israeli Hamas war.

New Delhi: The Israel Hamas war, which began decades ago as the Israel-Palestine conflict, turned into a full-fledged war on October 7, 2023. A month and a week later, the war continues, as does the heartbreaking loss of life and property. Amid the ongoing war, nationals of several countries are trapped in the affected areas and powerful nations are doing what they can to evacuate them. India also started ‘Operation Ajay’ to evacuate and bring back all Indians stuck in the war-torn areas; SpiceJet, an LCC airline that took part in the government’s evacuation mission, also operated ten special flights to evacuate not Indians but Thai nationals from Tel Aviv, Israel. Know everything about it…

SpiceJet operates special flights to evacuate Thai nationals

In a major humanitarian initiative, India’s low-cost carrier SpiceJet successfully operated ten special flights to evacuate more than 3,000 Thai nationals from war-torn Tel Aviv, Israel. The airline used its Airbus A340 aircraft for these crucial repatriation missions. The special flights, which were operated with precision between October 20 and 31, included routes connecting Tel Aviv to Bangkok and Tel Aviv to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. SpiceJet’s commitment to ensuring the safe return of citizens amid challenging circumstances was evident during these operations.

SpiceJet’s participation in Operation Ajay

Besides repatriating Thai citizens, SpiceJet operated multiple flights under ‘Operation Ajay’, which helped Indian nationals return safely from Israel. This dual effort underscores the airline’s commitment to helping citizens in need and promoting international cooperation during tumultuous times. SpiceJet has participated in several repatriation missions. The airline previously played a crucial role in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine under ‘Operation Ganga’ and ‘Operation Kaveri’ from Sudan, demonstrating its proactive efforts in critical situations.

SpiceJet statement on airline participation in government-led repatriation efforts

A statement from SpiceJet said that “the airline has been actively participating in the Indian government-led repatriation efforts. The airline has consistently played a crucial role in uniting families, transporting essential supplies during the pandemic and contributing to operations like ‘Operation Kaveri’ and ‘Operation Ganga’. The statement said that SpiceJet’s commitment to humanitarian causes remains steadfast despite the setbacks. The airline’s resilience and commitment in supporting government-led initiatives highlight its critical role in facilitating repatriation and evacuation operations on the global stage.

(Input from ANI)

Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 402 at 5 pm, prompting the Centre’s pollution control panel to impose phase III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to be implemented in the region during the winter season.

New Delhi: Delhi Metro will operate 20 additional train journeys across its network from November 3 following the measures taken by pollution control authorities on Thursday to encourage more and more people to use public transport in Delhi and neighboring cities, officials said. Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 402 at 5 pm, prompting the Centre’s pollution control panel to impose phase III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to be implemented in the region during the winter season.

“In view of the implementation of the GRAP-III phase to combat pollution in Delhi, the DMRC will add an additional 20 trips across its network from tomorrow i.e. November 3, 2023 (Friday),” the DMRC said in a statement. Delhi Metro is already operating 40 additional train journeys on weekdays (Monday to Friday) from October 25, when the GRAP-II phase came into effect.

“So, from tomorrow, the DMRC will conduct a total of 60 additional trips as part of the measures taken under GRAP to encourage more and more people to use public transport in Delhi-NCR,” it added.

The Centre’s pollution control panel on Thursday issued directions banning non-essential construction work in Delhi-NCR and entry of diesel-guzzling trucks in the national capital as the air quality in the city entered the ‘severe’ category.

GRAP categorizes actions into four phases: Phase I – ‘Bad’ (AQI 201-300); Stage II – ‘Very Poor’ (AQI 301-400); Stage III – ‘Severe’ (AQI 401-450); and Phase IV – ‘Severe Plus’ (AQI >450). Phase III of GRAP includes a complete halt to construction and demolition work, except for essential government projects, mining and rock crushing.

(With PTI inputs)