In an exhilarating boost to aerial travel, a direct flight takes wing between Lucknow and Varanasi.
This groundbreaking development was inaugurated by the dynamic Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, on August 10. The launch of this seamless non-stop flight option is poised to revolutionize commuting between these two cities, shortening the journey of over 300 kilometers to a mere hour.
The flight, introduced by IndiGo, will be operated three days a week — Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The flight will take off from Lucknow at 02:20 PM and touch down at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at 03:30 PM. On return, the journey from Varanasi to Lucknow will be from 4:05 PM till 5 PM.
The Uttar Pradesh CM was hopeful that this direct flight between Lucknow and Varanasi will meet the demand of the tourists visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Dham. Apart from the general public, many prominent celebrities, entrepreneurs, businessmen and representatives mark their presence in this holy city every year. “This flight service was a necessity given the importance of the holy city,” Yogi Adityanath said. He also presented the first ticket on this route to a woman passenger, who travelled on the inaugural flight.
“Earlier, one would hardly think about domestic airports in smaller places. But today, the work of connecting towns such as Azamgarh, Shravasti, Chitrakoot, Aligarh, Moradabad and Saharanpur with air service is progressing at a fast pace,” the UP CM said.
The tourism minister of UP, Jaiveer Singh was also present at the event. He said that this non-stop flight will not only reduce the travel time between the two cities to 55 minutes but will also “increase tourists’ traction towards the historically significant state capital.” With the launch of this service, Varanasi has become the 25th domestic venue to have direct connectivity from the Lucknow airport. People can also travel to nine overseas destinations from here.
On the occasion, CM Yogi Adityanath also pledged to complete the work of five world-class international airports across Uttar Pradesh sooner. Currently, the state has three international airports in operation in Lucknow, Varanasi and Kushinagar. The additional two airports are being built in Noida and Ayodhya.
The passenger footfall at the Varanasi airport has seen a significant surge in recent years. In the 2022-23 financial year, more than 25 lakh people boarded a flight from this airport, while the numbers were only 19 lakhs in 2016-17.
Comments
0 comment