Mumbai Airport News: Chipi to Get Direct Flights to Navi Mumbai
Mumbai Airport News
Chipi Airport in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district will soon have direct flights to Navi Mumbai. The Maharashtra cabinet has approved financial support for the airline Fly91 to operate on this route.
The state cabinet took the decision at a meeting on Tuesday. It approved 100% Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for Fly91 to run flights between Chipi and Navi Mumbai. The flights will operate to Navi Mumbai instead of the main Mumbai airport.
Fly91 had earlier received approval to operate on the Chipi-Mumbai-Chipi route. However, the airline could not get a slot at Mumbai airport within the given time. Slots are limited at Mumbai’s busy airport, which made it hard for the airline to start its service. Navi Mumbai offers a new option for the route.
The government has approved funding of ₹6,200 per seat for flights in both directions between Chipi and Navi Mumbai. The total subsidy for the two routes is expected to be ₹16.74 crore for one year.
Viability Gap Funding is financial help given to airlines that fly on routes which may not be profitable at first. Small regional routes often have fewer passengers, so airlines may need support to run them.
The funding is provided under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), part of the central government’s UDAN scheme, which aims to make air travel accessible to more people. The scheme operates under an agreement between the central government, the Maharashtra government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Ajeet Yadav is an aviation enthusiast covering airline news, airports, aircraft, and industry developments through well-researched and reliable reporting.
