Indigo airlines team inspects Puducherry airport again, in preparation of launch of domestic services

Indigo explores launching domestic flights from Puducherry Airport, with plans to start services to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Representatives of private airline, Indigo, made another visit to Puducherry Airport last week, as part of their preparations to launch domestic flights from the Union Territory.

As a continuation of the inspection carried out by the Indigo management on April 16, another team headed by senior manager, flight safety operations, Indigo, Ram Babu Mahto visited the airport on Thursday, May 2, 2024, to determine the feasibility of operating ATR-72 type aircrafts from Puducherry Airport.

Puducherry was being provided air connectivity by a lone operator, SpiceJet, with daily services to Hyderabad and Bengaluru for some time. However the airline temporarily suspended operations from Puducherry in March this year.

Rajasekhar Reddy, director, Puducherry Airport told The Hindu that the team inspected the passenger terminal building, apron, runway, air traffic control tower, offices of the Meteorological Department, fire, fuel station and operational areas of the airport as part of preparing a feasibility report.

“The team is satisfied with the existing facilities for commencement of scheduled flights. They have tentatively planned to start initial services to Bengaluru and Hyderabad from July 1. The operator is planning to add some more routes and those sectors will be decided later.

The Lt Governor, Chief Minister and Minister for Tourism have all requested the airline to start its operations at the earliest and connect Puducherry with more destinations,” Mr. Reddy said.

Earlier, a team from Indigo headed by Drishti Dalmi, assistant manager, projects, airport operations and customer services had visited the airport on April 16, to get a first-hand account of the facilities available to explore the viability of commencing flight operations.