IndiGo To Discontinue Jabalpur-Indore Flight From Oct 24; Several Services Withdrawn In 4 Years

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Jabalpur's Dumna Airport, which was expanded at a cost of around ₹450 crore, has suffered a major setback after IndiGo decided to discontinue its Jabalpur-Indore flight from Oct 24. The airline has not included the service in its winter schedule.

The flight, which operated on the Jabalpur-Indore-Hyderabad route, was the only air service connecting Jabalpur and Indore. Its discontinuation will force passengers to depend on road transport or other alternatives.

IndiGo To Introduce Bigger Aircraft

Meanwhile, IndiGo plans to increase passenger capacity on the Jabalpur-Hyderabad route. Currently, a 78-seater aircraft operates on this route. The airline is preparing to replace it with a larger aircraft with 186 seats.

According to IndiGo officials, the airline is discontinuing the Jabalpur-Indore service due to maintenance requirements of the smaller ATR aircraft.

Business Community Raises Concerns

The Jabalpur Chamber of Commerce described the decision as unfortunate, saying it would affect trade, tourism, education and industrial activities. The chamber said businessmen depend on flights to save travel time. While reaching Indore by air takes around two hours, travelling by road takes considerably longer.

Questions have also been raised over the benefits of spending more than ₹400 crore on airport development when regular flight services cannot be maintained. Several flights have been introduced and discontinued from Jabalpur over the past 4 years, creating uncertainty among passengers and businessmen.

Alternative Routes Suggested

The Jabalpur Chamber of Commerce urged airlines to explore alternative routes instead of completely discontinuing the service. It suggested introducing connecting flights such as Jabalpur-Indore-Ahmedabad or Jabalpur-Indore-Pune.

According to the chamber, these routes would improve connectivity with major cities and benefit businessmen, students and other passengers travelling from Jabalpur.