SpiceJet Airlines has discontinued its direct flight from Hyderabad to Ayodhya effective from June 1. The flight, which was operating on an Airbus A320 aircraft, was among seven other flights connecting cities to Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki International Airport.
The inaugural flight took off on April 2, with flight SG 611 departing Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at 10.45 a.m. and arriving at Ayodhya’s Maharishi Valmiki International Airport at 12:45 p.m. The return flight, SG 616, left Ayodhya at 1:25 p.m. and landed back in Hyderabad at 3:25 p.m. This schedule of three direct flights in a week persisted until May 30, when the last direct flight was operated, according to flight tracking websites.
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Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Kishan Reddy, who was then the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism in February 2024 wrote to the then Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, requesting flights to be connected from Hyderabad to Ayodhya.
“The immense religious significance for countless devotees has led to the demand for efficient and direct transportation to Ram Janmabhoomi. Currently, the lack of direct flight service between Hyderabad and Ayodhya poses a significant challenge for devotees who wish to travel conveniently,” he wrote.
Six of the eight flights connecting Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Patna, Darbhanga, and Hyderabad to Ayodhya have been discontinued.