Bhopal: Flyers forum meets airport officials for direct Pune flight

BHOPAL: Amid their ongoing demand to connect Bhopal with Pune, Lucknow and Kolkata, Tushar Kulkarni,a member of Support Bhopal for Air Connectivity (SBFAC) met airport officials in Pune to discuss about the urgency for air connectivity between the two capitals.
Kulkarni said that slot for Bhopal-Pune flight is available with Air India but its shortage of aircraft is likely to be a constraint in the connectivity.Air India had started Bhopal-Pune flight in 2016. However, it was discontinued after couple of months. Since then Air India continues to retain the slot.
Speaking to TOI, Kulkarni said, I had written a letter with a request of a meeting about connecting Bhopal with Pune. During the meeting, I told him that as a part of initiative we conducted a lot of surveys for the required destinations and Pune as emerged as one of the most demanded destination."
"And since, Air India holds the Bhopal-Pune slot, SBFAC has also contacted higher authorities of the airline, the response is awaited", Kulkarni added. He also claimed that SBFAC is also following up with IndiGo and Spice Jet to introduce a direct flight to Pune.
Air passenger traffic in Bhopal witnessed 15% growth in last two years, shows data. Notably, frequent flyers who have been running an online campaign for better air connectivity from Bhopal recently organised a walkathon to demand air connectivity with cities like Pune, Kolkata and even Dubai.
Bengaluru-based Prachi Baluapuri, who is heading the SBFAC has managed to add over 65,000 flyers in the online group.