Hopes revive of air connectivity from Agra

Agra, Jan 5 The Taj city with three world heritage monuments, could soon be air connected with major Indian cities.

The Kheria airport officials confirmed some airlines had sought permission to begin flights.

Tourism circles in the Taj city welcomed fresh initiatives to air connect Agra with Goa, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhopal.

Air India is already in the line to start a flight to Goa. Initially, this could be a weekly flight but later if there is tourist support, the number of flights could be increased, an official said.

Zoom airways may also start flights to Lucknow, Bhopal, under the Udan scheme. The lone flight to Jaipur was suspended last year due to poor response.

Permission from the air force which controls the Kheria airport is necessary to start a flight. The union civil aviation ministry has drawn up a plan to provide an independent approach road and a new terminal building, to avoid security bottlenecks. The boundary of the new complex is almost complete.

"Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the momentum was halted, but now that conditions seem to be returning to normal, and the number of visitors going up, work could be speeded up," senior tourism industry leader Surendra Sharma said.

Each year, Agra is visited by seven to eight million tourists from all over. A large percentage comprises foreign tourists.

With three world heritage monuments and half a dozen other attractions, Agra is India's major tourist destination, with more than a dozen five-star hotels and hundreds of small and big hotels.