Watch: First flight to Ayodhya airport from Delhi takes off

IndiGo pilot, captain Ashutosh Shekhar, welcomed passengers onboard the first Ayodhya-bound flight

New Delhi | Updated: December 30, 2023 02:40 PM IST

2 min read

Flight captain (inset) speaks on the first flight to Ayodhya airport from Delhi (PTI/ANI)

Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya Saturday, the first flight bound to the airport took off from Delhi.

A video shared by news agency ANI showed IndiGo pilot, captain Ashutosh Shekhar, welcoming passengers onboard the Ayodhya-bound flight. “I am fortunate that IndiGo gave me the opportunity to command a flight of this significance,” he said, ending with ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants from the passengers.

Visuals also showed passengers chanting “Jai Shri Ram” before boarding the first flight to the Ayodhya airport.

Located 15 kms from the main Ayodhya city, the phase 1 of the airport has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 1,450 crore, according to a statement by the PMO. On Saturday, PM Modi inaugurated the airport accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia.

With a total area of 6,500 sqm, the airport’s terminal building is equipped to serve about 10 lakh passengers annually.

This comes ahead of the grand ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration ceremony) of the idol of Lord Ram in the under-construction Ram temple on January 22.

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