Dehradun/Pithoragarh, Mar 26 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday flagged off Alliance Air’s 42-seater flight between Dehradun and Pithoragarh.
This flight service between the two cities, which was suspended for nearly six months, has now been resumed.
Following the flag-off at Jolly Grant Airport near Rishikesh, the chief minister said that this flight, launched on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami, will enable the journey between Pithoragarh and Dehradun to be completed in one hour.
He said that this flight service will provide a boost to Pithoragarh’s economy.
He added that the Naini Saini Airport in Pithoragarh is being developed at a cost of Rs 450 crore, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for its acquisition was signed between the Airports Authority of India and the Uttarakhand government in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of State Foundation Day on November 9, 2025.
Dhami said that through the ‘UDAN’ scheme, launched in 2016 under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, air services are being made available to the citizens at affordable rates by connecting small towns, remote, and border areas to the air network.
He said that for a mountainous state like Uttarakhand, air services are not just a means of transportation but have become a lifeline, proving effective in delivering essential supplies to inaccessible and remote areas and bringing critically ill patients to major hospitals for immediate treatment.
Dhami said that currently, 26 air routes are being operated in the state under ‘UDAN’.
He stated that the “Uttarakhand Air Connectivity Scheme” was launched in 2023 to connect remote areas of the state with air connectivity, and currently, regular flights are operating on six air routes.
He noted that in the past four years, the number of heliports in the state has increased from two to 12, while the number of helipads has increased from 60 to 118. He added that Uttarakhand has also received the national honour of “Best State for Promotion of Aviation Ecosystem.” On this occasion, Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu, through a video message, expressed his best wishes for the Dehradun-Pithoragarh flight service and assured to promote air connectivity in the state.
Meanwhile, in Pithoragarh, District Magistrate Ashish Bhatgai stated that this Alliance Air flight between Pithoragarh and Dehradun will operate three days a week. He added that the same company also provides services between Delhi and Pithoragarh.
After operating for about a year, the air service between Dehradun and Pithoragarh was discontinued in October last year. PTI DPT MPL HIG HIG
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