The recently inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham (MVIAA) has already received more than 40 requests for landing of chartered flights for the 'Pran Pratishtha' event of Ram temple inauguration at Ayodhya on January 22.?
"Till date, we have received over 40 chartered flight requests for the January 22 event. We expect the list to grow further, maybe more than 100," said an official.?
The requests have come from some of the most influential personalities, including corporate tycoons, celebrities, foreign delegates and state heads.?
MVIAA director Vinod Kumar Garg said, "Around 100 chartered flights are expected during that period. It would be challenging to handle such a mega movement, but we will be roping in additional ground staff and others for smoother operations."?
A chartered flight refers to renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats.?
The battery of chartered flights include ultra-luxurious private jets such as 10-seater Dassault Falcon 2000, Embraer 135 LR & Legacy 650, Cessna, Beechcraft Super King Air 200 and Bombardier.?
However, these flights will be allowed to land only after Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials at MVIAA chalk out the plan for the mega scale flight operation in the temple town.?
Reports states that while chartered flights will be allowed to land but they cannot park at the MVIAA airport.This is because most of the parking space will be taken up by PM Modi's aircrafts.?
The MVIAA has eight bays (aprons) capable of parking single aisle 200-seater aircraft and smaller ones but it is expected that at least four parking slots will be occupied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aircrafts.?
"Therefore, other flights will be allowed to land, de-board the dignitary in a particular time window, and then take off to the nearest airport to return only after the Prime Minister has left Ayodhya. The private chartered flights might also be diverted mid-air in case excessive air space occupancy is observed," said another official.?
The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport was built at a cost of Rs 1,450 crore for the first phase. Originally called the "Maryada Purshottam Shri Ram Ayodhya International Airport", it was renamed after legendary poet Valmiki, who is celebrated as the author of the epic Ramayana.?
The Ayodhya Airport has a peak-hour capacity of 750+ passengers and four aircraft movements per hour.? ?
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