PUNE, 14 December 2005 — Muslim pilgrims from Pune and surrounding districts in western Maharashtra will no longer have to travel to board flights from Bombay to Saudi Arabia as Pune will have direct flights to Jeddah and Madinah from next year. This was disclosed by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel while speaking at a function marking the inauguration of the first international flight to Dubai on Monday evening. Patel also said that in addition to Saudi Arabia, there would be direct flights from Pune to London too.
After a long wait of 28 years, Pune airport was finally granted international airport recognition on Monday. It was a long awaited dream come true for the Puneites as Air-India flight AI719, an Airbus310 with 176 passengers, took to the skies for Dubai at 3.55p.m. instead of the scheduled 3.15p.m.
The flight was flagged off by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, in the presence of state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and the entire group of NCP ministers who skipped the ongoing winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly. The return flight from Dubai arrived in Pune at 10.30 last night.
Patel who belongs to the NCP described Pune’s “international status” as a gift to his boss Shard Pawar on his 65th birthday. Speaking after flagging off the flight to Dubai, Pawar said it was a major milestone that would have an impact not only in Pune but also places like Belgaum and Solapur. The flights from Pune to foreign destinations along with passengers would help boost export of agriculture produce from the region.
“People who used to come to airports to see a plane would now have a chance to be on the plane,” he said.
