Direct Navi Mumbai-Chipi flights from November 16, bookings open; fares Rs 3,500 to Rs 12,000

Travellers to the Konkan will soon have an air route as well. Until now, passengers have depended only on road and rail. A direct flight service is set to begin from Chipi airport in Sindhudurg district to Navi Mumbai, with preparations made to start it on November 16. Bookings have already opened.

The service will operate all seven days of the week, so passengers can fly on this route on Sundays too. It will bring relief to people in Sindhudurg and a major boost to tourists visiting the Konkan.

Deepak Kapoor, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Maharashtra Airport Development Company, shared key details of the service in a social media post. He also released the timetable of the daily flights, which showed that bookings on the route had begun.

According to the timetable, the aircraft will depart Navi Mumbai airport at 7:55 am and reach Chipi airport in Sindhudurg at 9:05 am. On the return leg, the same aircraft will leave Chipi at 9:25 am and arrive in Navi Mumbai at 10:35 am. Nitesh Rane said in a post on X that the first flight will take off on November 16.

The service will be operated by the airline Fly91. Minister Nitesh Rane also shared a screenshot of the booking page, which shows Navi Mumbai-Sindhudurg tickets starting at Rs 3,500 and going up to Rs 12,000.

The service will save considerable travel time between the two areas, benefiting those travelling for leisure, business and work. With flights on all seven days, air connectivity for Sindhudurg will also be strengthened. The airport at Ratnagiri is also expected to open in the next few months and is described as equipped with modern and essential facilities. Once it is operational, more options for air travel could open up in the Konkan.

The decision to start the Navi Mumbai-Chipi service was taken to increase air traffic at Chipi airport and to promote the Konkan's tourism industry. The proposal was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. A fund of Rs 16 crore 74 lakh 62 thousand has been sanctioned for the service for a period of one year.