New Delhi: Budget carrier IndiGo has announced the introduction of a new service between Bhubaneswar and Varanasi.
The flight will commence service from February 29. It will run daily, leaving Bhubaneswar at 9 pm and from Varanasi at 6.45 pm. According to sources, IndiGo will be engaging an ATR flight on this route.
The fare from Bhubaneswar on February 29, according to the IndiGo official website, is Rs 3470.
The direct Bhubaneswar-Varanasi connectivity would bring cheers to the travel and tour operators in the state apart from pilgrims and the common citizen who had been long demanding a direct service between the two cities for increased tourist inflow. Air India had withdrawn its flight from this route couple of years back.
“Varanasi is a vital link for the development of Buddhist tourism in Odisha, especially drawing pilgrims from Kathmandu who make Varanasi their base and then travel to other Buddhist places including Odisha,” said the founder of Bhubaneswar-based Travel Link Benjamin Simon.
In May 2017, the CM had sought the inclusion of Bhubaneswar in Air India’s Varanasi-Colombo circuit. He had also drawn attention to a Buddhist conclave where academicians and monks from Sri Lanka had expressed keen desire to visit Odisha and explore the Buddhist heritage sites.
