Bolstering aerial connectivity from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra and Gujarat, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia along with Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan flagged off eight new routes recently.

The airlines, SpiceJet, will commence operations on these eight new routes: Gwalior-Mumbai-Gwalior, Gwalior-Pune-Gwalior, Jabalpur-Surat-Jabalpur, and Ahmedabad-Gwalior-Ahmedabad.

Inauguration of these routes achieves the aim of the "Sab Uden Sab Juden" initiatives under the UDAN scheme to strengthen the established aerial network of the country while providing a catalyst to the local economy and tourism.

Congratulating the people of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat on the commencement of the new flight operations, Scindia said additional flights between Delhi-Jabalpur will also commence from July 18 onwards and Khajuraho-Delhi-Khajuraho flights from October 2021 onwards.

"We are committed to bolstering regional air connectivity and taking the Prime Minister's vision of Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) to greater heights!," he tweeted.

Gwalior is one of the first airports of Madhya Pradesh to be connected with the UDAN route and further enhancements in air traffic led to the advent of additional regional routes.

Gwalior is now well connected with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Jammu as UDAN routes and Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad as non-UDAN routes.

The city is famous for its historical buildings like Gwalior Fort, SaasBahu Temple, Tomb of Mohammad Ghaus, PhoolBagh, Gujari Mahal Museum, TeliKaMandir, Gwalior Zoo, Moti Mahal and Jai Vilas Palace.

The new routes will boost the aerial connectivity of Gwalior, the tourism city of Madhya Pradesh with the trade hubs of India, and further improve economic activity.

The commencement of these routes fulfils the objectives of the Ministry to enhance regional connectivity of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with the metro cities of the country.

With the flag-off, Jabalpur airport is now connected with Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune as non-UDAN routes and with Bilaspur as UDAN route.

Jabalpur is the administrative and educational centre of Madhya Pradesh. Home to Dhuandhar Falls, Madan Mahal Fort, Balancing Rock, Bargi Dam, Gurudwara Gwarighat Sahib, and Dumna Nature Reserve Park, the city is also a major tourist hub.

Earlier this month, under the UDAN scheme, Indigo airlines started another flight to connect Kolkata, West Bengal and Imphal, Manipur with Dibrugarh and Assam.

To date, 359 routes and 59 airports including five heliports and two water aerodromes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme.

The number of domestic passengers is on the rise as flying emerges as a preferred, safe and time-saving mode of transport. On July 15, 2021, as many as 1,56,450 passengers travelled on 1,450 flights.

Total flight movement was 2,915 and total passenger movement was 3,12,892.

Jabalpur MP Rakesh Singh, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola along with other senior officials of the ministry were also present during the flag-off.