NASHIK: Industrialists from Nashik on Thursday invited private and
public airlines
to commence their services from the
Ozar airport
, around 20km from the city.
At a meeting called by the state government in Mumbai on Thursday, the Nashik Industries and Manufacturers’ Association (NIMA) invited
airlines
like
Air India and
Jet Airways to commence their air services from the Ozar airport. The meeting was attended by principal secretary of civil aviation Shyam Lal Goel, respresentatives of Air India, Jet Airways and a few small airlines. Also present were local MP Hemant Godse, vice-chairman of Maharashtra Airport Development Committee Vishwas Patil and NIMA office-bearer Manish Rawal.
Incidentally, Goel and Air India officials will visit the Ozar airport in the first week of January to check the viability of air service from Nashik.
Speaking to TOI, H S Banerjee, president of NIMA, said, “Presently, the Union government has already invited bids from some airlines under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, for which January 9 is the last day. We had a meeting with the airline representatives where Air India and Jet Airways were invited to commence air services from Nashik.”
“While the representatives of Jet Airways said the carrier has no plans to commence air service from Nashik right now, Air India has remained positive, but is yet to give any commitment. Discussions were held on the possibility of hopping flights from Pune to Bangalore and Delhi via Nashik. For now, Air India and Goel have given their nod to visit the Ozar airport to understand the market and check the viability of commencing flights from the airport. Moreover, they will also be visiting Shirdi to check preparedness of the airport there,” Banerjee said.
Godse, said, “At the meet, we tried to convince the airlines to start flight from Nashik with the industry here giving an assurance of guarantee bookings. The city holds a good potential for air service since it is a industrial hub and also a holy city.”
The air service from Nashik is waiting to take off for the past 6-7 years. The airport terminal is also ready, but without any air service.
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