Air India Express to operate inaugural flight to Ayodhya on 30 December

Air India Express will operate its inaugural flight to Ayodhya from the national capital on December 30 and will commence scheduled daily service on the route from January 16.

The Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport at Ayodhya has an extended runway suitable for A-321/B-737 type aircraft operations.

The airport will be inaugurated before the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22.

In a release on Wednesday, Air India Express said the inaugural flight IX 2789 on 30 December is scheduled to depart from Delhi at 11.00 am and land in Ayodhya at 12.20 pm. From Ayodhya, IX 1769 is scheduled to depart for Delhi at 12.50 pm and arrive at 2.10 pm.

"Air India Express is excited to commence operations from Ayodhya right after the airport opens. This underlines our commitment to enhancing connectivity from tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country," the airline's managing director Aloke Singh said.

The airline, a subsidiary of Air India, operates more than 300 flights daily. It has a fleet of 59 aircraft.

On 14 December, aviation regulator DGCA issued the aerodrome licence for the upcoming Ayodhya airport, which has been developed at a cost of around Rs 350 crore by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

On 13 December IndiGo said it will operate the inaugural flight from the national capital to Ayodhya airport on 30 December and commercial services will commence from 6 January.

On 8 December, Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the airport at Ayodhya will be ready by the end of this month and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate it.