22nd Destination: Akasa Air Announces Flights to Prayagraj

Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air has announced a new destination in the form of Prayagraj. This way, the airline will break the monopoly of IndiGo at Prayagraj. Currently, IndiGo connects Prayagraj to seven Indian cities. Alliance Air operates ATR 72 flights to four cities. But in comparison to IndiGo, it has a negligible presence.

Akasa Air Opens Reservations for Prayagraj Flights

With effect from May 25, Akasa Air has planned to start non-stop flights between Mumbai and Prayagraj. The airline, which boasts an all-Boeing 737 MAX fleet will operate daily on this route. According to the filed Summer Schedule, Akasa Air had planned to start this route from March end, but has finally announced its initiation.

Prayagraj will become the 22nd city to be served by Akasa Air. The airline recently added Srinagar as its 20th and Doha as its 21st destination. On the domestic front, Prayagraj will be the 21st destination for the airline.

Here is a quick look at flight timings:

With this flight, Akasa Air will be serving four cities in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, it serves Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Lucknow. It connects Lucknow and Varanasi to both Mumbai and Bengaluru. Furthermore, Ayodhya is connected to Delhi.

Flights Gearing Up for Mahakumbh

Prayagraj is a spiritual city for Hindus. In 2025, the city will host the Mahakumbh 2025, in which lakhs of people will visit the city. To mitigate this demand, both airlines as well as airports are getting ready. According to Rajesh Kumar, Director of Prayagraj Airport, the airport is getting ready for the ramp-up in capacity. He said that the authorities will try their best to operate the maximum number of scheduled flights from the airport in order to carry as many passengers as possible.

In an interview given to Hindustan Times on 5 April, he said that the process of allotment of ticket counter to Akasa Air is underway. Before the mega festival, the airport is aiming to get connected to 23 Indian cities. Currently, it is connected to 8 cities only.

Praveen Iyer, the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Akasa Air expressed his enthusiasm while announcing this new destination. He said that Prayagraj is known for its rich cultural history. Within Uttar Pradesh, it is among the top tourist destinations.

The launch of daily flights between Mumbai and Prayagraj will further increase the financial activities in the region and will provide a much-needed boost to the tourism industry. It also enhances options for travelers.

More Akasa Air Flights to Prayagraj?

According to the Airport Director, Akasa Air has received approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to connect Prayagraj to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. It has opened flight bookings for the Mumbai route. The remaining are connections from Delhi and Bengaluru. Even on the DGCA website, the airline has filed for Delhi to Prayagraj flights in Summer.

This means that once the airline has aircraft availability, it will consider launching more flights to Prayagraj. Currently, IndiGo and Alliance Air are the only operators from Prayagraj Airport, leaving the airport devoid of any competition.

In the Summer Schedule filing available on the DGCA website, Akasa Air has filed for many new destinations. These destinations include Darbhanga, Durgapur, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Patna, Prayagraj, Ranchi, Shirdi and Thiruvananthapuram. It has been weeks since Akasa Air received delivery of any new aircraft. This may be the primary reason why the airline has halted its expansion plans.

According to you, which destinations should Akasa Air expand its wings to? Discuss in the comments section.

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