In order to augment air connectivity within the state, the Madhya Pradesh government has awarded contract to a private air taxi operator to connect its major destinations. The new operator is slated to commence its services from June. A senior government official recently confirmed the development saying the services by the air taxi operator will be available on a daily basis.
“Everything is finalised and an agreement has been signed. We have shortlisted one operator which will begin operating within a month,” Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anthony DeSa told TourismFirst on the sidelines of a state tourism function in Delhi recently. Though DeSa did not reveal the name of the the operator, he underlined that the new operator will be connecting the major destinations in the state on a daily basis. “There will at least be one flight a day connecting all five major cities plus Khajuraho. They will either be connected with each other or with one nearest point outside the state. For instance, it may connect Jabalpur with Nagpur. So I would imagine it will add 5-6 flights a day in the initial stage,” he explained.
Last year, Ventura Air Connect was providing a similar service in the state which had concluded around September after its contract had expired. Meanwhile, according to DeSa, Air Asia too is likely to commence its services to the state capital in the next two months which will further help in improving air connectivity to Madhya Pradesh. “ With these initiatives in the pipeline, we are confident air connectivity will improve significantly in the state in the coming months,” he said.
