Darbhanga, India to open to commercial traffic in mid-4Q20

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int’l) has announced it will launch services from the newly opened Darbhanga airport on November 8, 2020, connecting the city in north-eastern India with Mumbai Int’l, Delhi Int’l, and Bangalore Int’l. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, each of the three routes will be operated daily with B737-800s. Darbhanga aerodrome has been developed as a part of a military airport to serve the state of Bihar, which has thus far seen little air traffic. The state, which borders Nepal and is not far away from the borders with China, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, is India’s third-largest by population but also among its most rural and poorest. The only active airports in Bihar are Patna, serving the state capital, and Gaya. The bulk of the construction work needed to accommodate commercial traffic at the military airport has already been completed, with only minor works due to be done by the end of the month. SpiceJet will operate the three routes from Darbhanga under the RCS-UDAN government subsidization programme, wherein the airline is guaranteed subsidies in return for capping a share of the tickets at below-cost fares.