Passenger Amenity Day Tomorrow: Direct Air Connectivity From Bhopal Is Available For 7 Cities

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite heavy passenger load and footfall, direct air connectivity from Bhopal is available only for seven cities. However, there is a demand for air connectivity from Bhopal to every state capital.

As per the Raja Bhoj Airport administration, there were direct flights to only five cities in 2014. Currently, there is direct connectivity with seven cities, that is, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Raipur, Pune and Bengaluru.

Passenger Amenity Day will be celebrated on June 15. Direct flights to Noida International Airport (Jewar) are set to commence on July 1, 2026. Bhopal Airport was designated as an Immigration and Customs check-post in 2023.

Manoj Meek, advisory member of Raja Bhoj Airport committee, said, "There must be at least air connectivity to every state capital from Bhopal. But the progress is very poor.

Despite heavy passenger load and demand, air connectivity remains limited. For Chennai, I have to go to Indore first, wasting three hours to catch a flight for Chennai.

What is the benefit for me of being in the state capital? People from all states live here, so there must be air connectivity to all state capitals."

As per Raja Bhoj Airport administration, future planning includes the departure terminal, which is being reconfigured and will increase the terminal's annual passenger handling capacity from 25 lakh to 36 lakh.

Construction of a full-length parallel taxi track (PTT) is in progress. This will reduce runway occupancy time and significantly enhance aircraft operational capacity and safety.

The installation of a Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) is underway to further strengthen air traffic surveillance, thereby making air traffic management safer and more effective.

Phased development of facilities required for international flight operations is ongoing.