Mangaluru got air connectivity with north Karnataka trade centre Hubballi, when an IndiGo flight from Hubballi landed at Mangaluru International Airport with 48 passengers on Sunday.
An MIA release here said the airport added yet another sector to its steadily growing list of domestic destinations in welcoming the maiden flight from Hubballi (HBX) on Labour Day. The response to the return inaugural flight too was encouraging with 36 passengers taking it.
The addition of the new destination comes on the back of MIA operating a flight to Delhi via Pune from March 28 as part of the summer schedule. Just like the one to Pune, IndiGo will operate the flights to Hubballi four times a week on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with flight 6E7189 (ATR) arriving at MIA at 6.05 p.m. and flight 6E7191 departing at 6.35 p.m.
The inaugural Hubballi-Mangaluru flight being given a water cannon salute on its arrival at Mangaluru International Airport on Sunday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
IndiGo celebrated the occasion by dedicating a check-in counter exclusively for Hubballi passengers. The airline with the stakeholders lit the traditional lamp and cut a cake to add to the festive atmosphere. Passengers who arrived early for this flight participated in the celebration.
For Imam Shakeel Sayed returning home to Alnavar near Dharwad from Dubai, the inaugural flight was godsend. “Normally, I would have gone either to Goa or Bengaluru from Dubai, before taking a flight to Hubballi,” he said.
Anil Kumar Bhat, a bank employee, took the flight for official work in Hubballi rather than taking an overnight road or rail trip that he otherwise would have taken.
The airport presented a traditional water cannon salute to the aircraft as it taxied into the parking stand. Captain Gurpreet Singh Sudan acknowledged this on behalf of his crew that included senior first officer Vinod Ranganath and cabin crew – Anandita Das and Sangami Mandal.
