Maha cabinet approves Rs 18 crore to make air travel from Solapur to Pune & Mumbai feasible
The refurbished Solapur airport commenced flight operations with the Solapur-Goa route. However, despite several efforts, airline operators were hesitant to provide regular air services from Solapur to Mumbai and Pune, citing unaffordable ticket prices as the airport is not included in the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme for regional connectivity.
To make air travel between Solapur and Pune and Solapur and Mumbai viable, state govt decided to grant a subsidy per seat to offset operational losses and make air travel affordable for people.
"For one year, govt will provide a viability gap funding subsidy of Rs 3,240 per seat with a total budget of Rs 17.9 crore. After one year, the airport will come under the
UDAN scheme
and, thereafter, the state will grant 20% of the travel fares as per the UDAN scheme guidelines, and the viability gap funding will cease to exist," said the cabinet decision.
A Goa-based airline currently operates flights on four days of the week — Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — from the Solapur airport. The flight lands at Mopa airport. A senior airport official said, "The discussions are on with other private air service providers to start services for connecting flights between Solapur, Pune, and Mumbai. The mid-size airplane (60 seater) will be deployed along the routes."
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