Ghaziabad, March 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Hindon Airport in Ghaziabad, developed under the Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN. The new airport will significantly reduce pressure at the Indira Gandhi International airport in the national capital, as the residents of Delhi-NCR will find the Hindon airport as a viable alternative.

The project, built an estimated cost of Rs 40 crore, will provide a boost to tier-II and tier-III connectivity. Among the to and fro air routes being approved from Hindon are: Ghaziabad-Nashik, Ghaziabad-Jamnagar, Ghaziabad-Shimla, Ghaziabad-Pithoragarh, Ghaziabad-Kannur, Ghaziabad-Faizabad and Ghaziabad-Kalaburgi. Air India Launches Twice-a-Week Flights From Lucknow to Iraq’s Najaf, Rajnath Singh Flags Off Inaugural Trip.

In a bid to provide affordable services, the Centre has capped the air fares at Rs 2,500 per hour of travel to tier-II and tier-III cities.

Visuals of the airport inauguration:

The site where the Hindon Airport has been built belongs to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The land was chosen to decongest the IGI, which was operating to the utmost of its capacity.

The civil enclave at the Hindon Airport is equipped to handle 300 passengers during peak hours, as per the Airports Authority of India (AAI). A parking lot has been also been installed, with an intake capacity of 90 cars. Eight check-in counters, two arrival carousel and four frisking booths have also been installed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2019 07:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).