Flight services begin from Chhattisgarh’s upgraded Jagdalpur airport

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday launched flight services from Maa Danteshwari Airport in Jagdalpur under the Centre’s UDAN scheme.

Alliance Air will operate services to Raipur, some 300 kilometers away, and Hyderabad from the airport, which is named after the famous Goddess Danteshwari temple in Dantewada in tribal-dominated Bastar division.

In a recorded video message, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the move will boost tourism in the Bastar region, which is known for dense forests, high hills and waterfalls, like Chitrakot, and unique tribal culture.

“Earlier we tried to provide air connectivity (in 2018) through small flights from Jagdalpur to Raipur and Bhubaneshwar but it was not successful (and was discontinued in November that year).