NEW DELHI: Air India’s sole direct flight between Jaipur and Agra is suffering losses and the government has spent Rs 5 crore so far to keep it running, according to official records seen by ET.
A direct Air India flight was started between Jaipur and Agra in December 2017 under the Regional Connectivity Scheme with the hope that foreign tourists would use it to complete the golden triangle or the key Delhi-Jaipur-Agra tourist circuit quicker to see monuments such as the Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Amer Fort.
However, there have not been as many takers as that expected at the launch of the flight. Records show that the government has had to pay Air India Rs 5 crore through viability gap funding (VGF) till the latest demand was generated for the month of July 2019, to keep the service running despite many empty seats on the flight.
