KALABURAGI: Tirupati is now just an hour away for residents of Kalaburagi and neighbouring districts as StarAir commenced flights between the two cities from Monday.
In a privately held ceremony at Kalaburagi airport, the route was inaugurated by Kalaburagi MP Dr Umesh Jadhav in the presence of other dignitaries. Senior executives from AAI, Star Air and Sanjay Ghodawat Group were present.
Speaking on the occasion, Jadhav expressed his happiness and requested StarAir to start flight services to Mumbai, Hyderabad and other important cities.
Sanjay Ghodawat, who is the managing director of the Sanjay Ghodawat Group which operates StarAir, in his message said StarAir has already connected Kalaburgi with the state capital Bengaluru and national capital Delhi and now it is being connected with an important pilgrimage centre of the country. These non-stop flight services from Kalaburagi will not only make travel more convenient but also help boost the local economy and businesses, he said.
Every year, thousands of tourists and pilgrims fly to Tirupati from Kalaburagi. They can now cover the distance of around 620 km in just an hour compared to the 11 hours needed via other modes of transportation, he said.
Moreover, as the flight service operates under the RCS-UDAN scheme, the company is providing inaugural flight tickets starting at just Rs 999, he said.
Kalaburagi Rural MLA Basavaraj Mattimudu, President of Hyderabad Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries Amarnath Patil, Director of Kalaburagi Airport Gnaneshwar Rao and former minister Malikaiah Guttedar who is also state unit vice-president of the BJP were present on the occasion.