Six new destinations to be added to hub-and-spoke model in next six weeks: Civil Aviation Minister

VARANASI: Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Thursday said that the Centre will bring in six destinations under the hub-and-spoke model in the next six weeks, to take the initiative to all airports in the country. Naidu inaugurated the first hub-and-spoke flight connecting Varanasi to the world via New Delhi, to operationalise international connectivity from tier 2 and tier 3 cities at scale.

The Union Minister termed it an important day for civil aviation in India. He said, “This is a very important day for Indian civil aviation because there are high expectations for hub-and-spoke operations in the country. Some are going to Dubai, some to Singapore and other places, and from there they have transit connectivity to the rest of the world. We have the capacity, and we have the infrastructure, we have everything ready.”

“All the SOPs and systems are now finalised; all stakeholders have been brought together. And the first operation is going to start from Varanasi today. I have come to personally oversee the operations and see how it is going. So, in the next 6 weeks, we will see 6 new destinations added to this model. Now, if someone is travelling from Varanasi, they can simply do immigration here and go to Delhi. The aim is to open all airports under this model,” the minister added.

#WATCH | Varanasi, UP | Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu says, “This is a very important day for Indian civil aviation because there are high expectations for hub-and-spoke operations in the country. Some are going to Dubai, some to Singapore and other places, and from… pic.twitter.com/Rbo7RMmSjA

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The Centre began the first hub-and-spoke flight along with Air India. Under the hub-and-spoke model, ‘spoke’ cities like Varanasi are connected to major ‘hub’ airports such as Delhi.

According to Air India, under the ‘Easy Connect’ initiative, the travellers from tier 2 and tier 3 cities will be able to check in at their home airport all the way through to their final international destination, with no need to collect or re-check baggage at the hub airport.

Travellers can complete international immigration formalities at their originating airport, and can transit through ‘hub’ airports as international travellers.

Meanwhile, ahead of the Nagpur visit, Ram Mohan Naidu said that he will see the master plan for the development of the Nagpur Airport today. He said that the Nagpur Airport will witness a major transformation in the next five years.

Naidu said, “For quite some time, an agreement has been reached between the Airports Authority of India, the state governments of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, and GMR. This was all done together. We are developing state-of-the-art infrastructure in Nagpur that meets global standards. Today, we’re going to see the master plan for that development.”

“Nagpur is at the crossroads of the country. And many new industries are coming to Nagpur and its surrounding areas. Therefore, it’s very important that aviation operations and airport operations are improved. We’re going to ensure that in the next five years, we’ll see a major transformation at Nagpur Airport,” he added.

Last month, the Union Cabinet approved the upgradation and modernisation of Nagpur International Airport under the PPP mode. (ANI)