As many as 37 flights will take off from and land in the Birsa Munda Airport every day during winters – the highest since the Covid-induced restrictions caused a slump in the civil aviation industry.
As per the winter schedule released by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), direct flights from Ranchi will take off for Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, Patna, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar during the next couple of months. At least 31 flights took off from Ranchi on Saturday, which was the highest in a day so far since a Covid-induced lockdown was enforced in March 2020, said Deputy General Manager (Air Traffic Movement) at Birsa Munda Airport, Wilfred Kerketta.
“The highest we reached was about 20 flights in a day since lockdown. The 37 daily flights approved by the airport authority will be the highest daily number of flights from Ranchi since March 2020,” said Kerketta.
Besides Covid-induced restrictions, the number of daily flights from Ranchi was also affected due to repair work of the airstrip for a couple of months. All daytime flights to and from Ranchi remained suspended for at least two months last winter due to the repair works, an airport official said.In the past one year or so, Ranchi has got several new flights to non-metro destinations following a push by the transport department to improve air connectivity with tier two cities in India, sources said. During this period, Ranchi got flights to Pune, Lucknow, Patna and Ahmedabad. Earlier this month, the Ranchi airport bagged first position in Eastern India and fifth position in country in customer satisfaction and basic facilities provided to passengers. Airport Council International (ACI), a global body involved in improving security, safety and sustainability of aviation industry, conducted survey by seeking feedback of at least 350 passengers who travelled to or from Ranchi. At least 60 airports across India were reviewed during survey. Birsa Munda Airport is also set to get to new aerobridges and an In-Line Baggage Screening (ILBS) system, which is likely to enhance the experience of passengers by making baggage screening process quick and hassle-free, officials said.
The Birsa Munda Airport at present has a 75 meter basic strip, which is minimum length required for any airport. The length of basic strip, airport officials said, will be increased to 140 meters under expansion plans for airport. The construction of an isolation bay is also in pipeline, they added.
