Civil Aviation Minister flags off Fly91's maiden flight from Goa to Agatti

New Delhi/Panaji, March 12 (IANS) Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday flagged off regional airline Fly91's maiden flight from Goa's Manohar International Airport (MOPA) to Lakshwadeep's Agatti Islands.

In his remarks at the inauguration ceremony in New Delhi, he lauded the transformative impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership on the aviation industry, noting the emergence of new regional airlines in the past decade.

"In the past 10 years, the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought a new dawn to this industry which resulted in the birth of six new regional airlines," he said.

The minister emphasised that under PM Modi's stewardship, the industry had witnessed a paradigm shift from news of airline closures and bankruptcies to a renewed era of growth and expansion.

He also highlighted the multidimensional growth of civil aviation in the country. He reiterated the government’s commitment to connecting tier 2 and tier 3 cities through the UDAN scheme and said that the aviation industry is expecting to raise its domestic traffic to 30 crore by 2030, against just 6 crore in 2014.

At Panaji, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that during the rule of the BJP in the last ten years, the number of airports has increased, which helps people to connect to regions they wish to visit.

Fly91 Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Manoj Chacko said that his efforts are to make air travel more accessible as part of the vision for 'Bharat Unbound'.

"We reiterate our commitment to our customers that Fly91 is aligned with the goal towards offering last-mile connectivity and making air travel in India accessible, safe and reliable. We aim to be part of India’s ongoing economic transformation by creating robust regional connectivity which is crucial to economic growth," he said.

The airline said that scheduled flights will commence, effective from March 18, between the Manohar International Airport, Goa and Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jalgaon, Agatti, Pune, Nanded and from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune to Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded, and Goa, in a phased manner.

The latest entrant in the country’s aviation sector has opened bookings for ticket sales.