Direct Kolhapur-Tirupati flight to be replaced by connection

The daily direct flight between Kolhapur and Tirupati started in 2018. The flight takes aro 55 minutes, and the aircraft can seat 76 passengers. Aviation activists said the new route Hyderabad) will inconvenience passengers travelling between the two temple cities. “Nea 80% of the passengers travelling between the two destinations are devotees visiting the Mahalaxmi temple for darshan after Tirupati or vice-versa,” said an activist. Public representatives of Kolhapur are urging the Union civil aviation minister to intervene after the authorities announced the discontinuance of the direct flight between Kolhapur and Tirupati from December 14. The private airline that operated the flight, has instead decided to provide a connecting flight via Hyderabad. The public representatives, however, said the direct flight service has a load factor of nearly 80% and should continue daily.Aviation activists said the new route (via Hyderabad) will inconvenience passengers travelling between the two temple cities.“Nearly 80% of the passengers travelling between the two destinations are devotees visiting the Mahalaxmi temple for darshan after Tirupati or vice-versa,” said an activist. Congress MLC Satej Patil said: “I have written to Jyotiraditya Scindia to intervene in this matter immediately. It will be a great loss if the flight service is stopped. It will harm the growth potential of both the cities.” The daily direct flight between Kolhapur and Tirupati started in 2018. The flight takes around 55 minutes, and the aircraft can seat 76 passengers. Shantanu Patil, an aviation expert, said, “Passengers will have to spend at least two-and-a-half hours more to reach Tirupati because of the connecting flight. Continuation of direct flights is necessary for the growth of the airport. Now that major projects, such as runaway extension and new terminal building works, are under way, we need more flights to operate from Kolhapur airport.” It is still uncertain whether the same flight will operate between “We had a direct flight to Ahmedabad, which stopped more than a year ago. Now, Kolhapur is left with direct flights only to Mumbai and Bengaluru,” the expert said.