In order to address the growing number of passengers bound for Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated a direct flight to Varanasi from Lucknow on August 9.
“Considering this progress, it was crucial for Varanasi to be connected with Lucknow through air. In the year 2016-17, Varanasi Airport saw only 19 lakh passengers in a year, but today, in 2022–23, this number has grown to more than 25 lakh passengers,” Adityanath was quoted in a press statement on August 10.
Expressing gratitude to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and Indigo Airlines on behalf of the people of the state, he said “Demand of entrepreneurs, businessmen, representatives, enlightened society, and pilgrims visiting the Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi was being met today with the launch of the air service between Varanasi and Lucknow”.
The Chief Minister highlighted that in the past six years, air service has expanded rapidly in the state.
He further claimed that initially, in the year 2017, there were two active airports in Varanasi and Lucknow whereas currently there are nine fully operational airports in the state.
“The state government is now expeditiously preparing 12 more airports, including two international airports, and among these, the Ayodhya Airport will become fully operational in December. Similarly, the first runway of Asia’s largest Jewar Airport will also be completed by the end of this year,” he was quoted.
“Even though the distance from Lucknow to Varanasi is around 300 kilometres, the necessity for this air service was undeniable. We need to grasp the importance of Varanasi,” he added.
The flight service between Lucknow and Varanasi has been launched for three days — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday — in a week for now.
Also Read: Waiting To Die In Kashi
As per the press release, “The IndiGo flight with flight number 6E-7319 will depart from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow at 2:20 PM and will arrive at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi at 3:30 PM after a 1-hour and 10-minute journey.”
“Similarly, the IndiGo flight with flight number 6E-7321 will depart from Varanasi Airport on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 4:05 PM and will arrive at Lucknow Airport 55 minutes later,” the press release added.
