Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) demanded that the air connectivity from the city to various domestic destinations should be enhanced for better industrial and agricultural development of the Marathwada region.
Milind Nevrekar, National Head (Corporate Sales – India) of Air India and Air India Express, visited the CMIA office on Tuesday and discussed the issue in detail.
During the meeting, CMIA office bearers raised key demands for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, including: a morning and/or evening direct flight to Mumbai, direct connectivity to Bengaluru, flights to Pune and Chennai, night parking facilities at the airport, introduction of international flights, and an air cargo service. CMIA also presented a detailed report on air connectivity developments over the last three years.
Nevrekar responded positively to these demands, assuring that CMIA’s suggestions will be placed before the route planning team. He further informed that the Air India group has procured new aircraft, which will be inducted in phases from this year, thereby enabling expansion of services to new destinations.
Highlighting the growing demand, CMIA President Utsav Machhar said, “In the past year alone, investments worth over ₹1 lakh crore have been committed in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. As these projects move into production, large-scale employment generation will follow, creating significant demand for air connectivity. It is therefore essential to have direct flights from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, as well as tourism-focused destinations like Rajasthan, Varanasi, and Kolkata.”
The meeting was attended by CMIA President Utsav Machhar, Treasurer Saurabh Challani, Rishikesh Gawali, Aniket Patil, Ravish Soni, Ravindra Manvatkar, and Air India’s Shomil Sonawane.
