The air travellers of Sanskardhani have a reason to rejoice as direct flight services between Jabalpur and Bhopal are set to resume from March 1. Indigo Airlines will operate this route thrice a week, addressing a long-standing demand for improved connectivity between the two major cities of Madhya Pradesh. At present, Jabalpur is connected by air to seven cities and with this addition the count will rise to eight. Recently, Hyderabad was added to the network with three weekly flights and there is growing anticipation that Pune may soon be linked as well. Sources informed that flight fares on this route might be slightly higher, but passengers believe that better connectivity is worth the extra cost. The Indigo’s has released the schedule for the new service. Accordingly, the flight will depart from Bhopal at 5.50 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrive at Jabalpur at 6.50 pm.

 

Thereafter, the flight will return to Bhopal at 7.15 pm and reach the state capital at 8.15 pm. It may be noted that Jabalpur already has regular flights to Indore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, and Jagdalpur, along with four weekly flights to Bengaluru and three to Hyderabad. The revival of the Jabalpur-Bhopal route comes as a relief for those who previously had to rely on trains or buses for travel between the two important cities. Over the years, the government has invested crores of rupees in modernising Dumna Airport of the city, yet air connectivity had been shrinking instead of expanding. However, recent efforts indicate a shift towards increasing flight services.

 

The ensuing Jabalpur-Bhopal flight is a step in that direction and there is strong speculation that direct flights to Pune might also be announced soon. Earlier, Jabalpur had air connectivity to Pune, which saw significant passenger demand but the service was discontinued. With growing pressure from frequent travellers and public representatives who frequently commute to Bhopal, airlines were urged to reinstate the route. Indigo’s Jabalpur-Bhopal flight will commence operations from March 1, to mark a new chapter in the city's aviation network.