Akasa Air Expected to Fill the Operational Gap Created by SpiceJet at Gorakhpur

Akasa Air, the newest major airline in India has received approval for yet another destination in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The Indian regulator has approved the airline to operate flights from Gorakhpur. If implemented as per the plan, it can become the 23rd destination for Akasa Air.

Gorakhpur: Akasa Air to Fill SpiceJet Gap

This Summer Schedule came as a shocker to Gorakhpur Airport when SpiceJet ceased all operations from the airport. The airline previously used to connect Gorakhpur to Delhi and Mumbai with daily flights. SpiceJet allocated its Gorakhpur operations to Ayodhya.

Suddenly, when a Tier-III city airport loses 14X weekly flights, it is a big loss. This also affects the economic activities, not just in the city but the entire region. Gorakhpur is not alone, even Puducherry faced the same wrath from SpiceJet.

But along with this, there is a piece of good news. This seizure from SpiceJet will not hurt Gorakhpur. Akasa Air has received permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to operate flights from Gorakhpur. The airline has been approved to connect Gorakhpur to four cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.

Akasa Air Gorakhpur Flights to Start From June

Upon receiving permission from the regulator, the airline is now moving to the next phase i.e. preparation. It is eyeing flight operations launch in June month. The airline officials have already made several visits to the airport facility. They have identified a suitable location for their office as well.

According to Airport Director RK Parashar, Akasa Air will open flight reservations shortly. These new flights will break the monopoly of IndiGo on various routes. Let us have a look at the competition faced by Akasa Air on all the approved routes.

Delhi to Gorakhpur: IndiGo and Alliance Air operate 14X and 5X weekly flights respectively. IndiGo deploys the A320neo and Alliance utilizes the ATR 72 for these flights.

Mumbai to Gorakhpur: IndiGo operates daily flights with Airbus A320neo.

Hyderabad to Gorakhpur: IndiGo operates daily flights with Airbus A321neo.

Bengaluru to Gorakhpur: No airline operates on this route currently. Akasa Air can be the exclusive operator on this route.

Expansion from Uttar Pradesh

The economy of the State of Uttar Pradesh is booming currently. Add to that, in 2025, the state will host the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. There will be a huge influx of pilgrims from all over the country as well as abroad. As a result, airlines are deploying more capacity at airports in Uttar Pradesh.

Akasa Air has already opened bookings for the 22nd destination -Prayagraj. It will operate daily flights between Mumbai and Prayagraj from May 25.

Prayagraj will be the 4th destination to be served by Akasa Air in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, it operates from Lucknow, Varanasi, and Ayodhya, connecting the first two cities to Mumbai and Bengaluru and the last one to Delhi.

Akasa Air has filed for many new destinations in the Summer Schedule. From March 28, the airline has launched international operations with an inaugural service to Doha. It is now operating five times a week between Mumbai and Doha. It is expected to start services to Saudi Arabia. In the form of early steps, it has appointed Al-Maha United Travel as the General Sales Agent for Saudia ops.

What do you think should be the next QP destination? Discuss in the comments section.

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