(a) whether Air India proposes to expand its regional reach to connect new cities;
(b) if so, the details of new connectivity which have been started by Air India during the last three years;
(c) the proposals from the State Governments which have been received by the National carrier therein, particularly from Gujarat State; and
(d) the details of the present status of the new airports which have been started during the last three years?
The Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(Shri Jayant Sinha)
(a) and (b): Air India continually conducts market survey and studies to explore new potential routes and destinations. In the last 3 years, Air India has started operations on many new routes.The details of the same are available at Annexure.;
(c): No proposal has been received by Air India from the State Government of Gujarat for new air connectivity.;
(d): Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation granted ''in-principle'' approval to M/s Bengal Aerotroplis Project Ltd. (BAPL) for setting up of a domestic Greenfield airport at Durgapur in December, 2008. The airport at Durgapur was consutructed and the commercial operations have commenced on 18.05.2015, with an Air India ATR-42 flight connecting this airport to Kolkata.