Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Even as new airports are being opened and fresh flights launched, a number of direct flight routes from older airports like Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior have been discontinued over the past three to four months.

Travel agents say this trend is mainly due to poor passenger load, making such routes unviable for airlines.

In Bhopal, several direct flights have been suspended recently. Flights to Jaipur, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Udaipur are no longer operational. Among two existing flights to Ahmedabad, one has been discontinued. All these routes were operated by IndiGo. Meanwhile, in Jabalpur, the direct flight to Kolkata has also been withdrawn.

Punit Maheshwari, a travel agent based in Bhopal, said, “Many direct flights from Bhopal to other cities have been stopped in just two to three months. This isn’t just at Bhopal airport—the same story is playing out at other airports too. Direct flights to Jaipur, Lucknow, Prayagraj and Udaipur have all been closed.”

Aditya Jain, a Jabalpur-based travel agent, said that flights to metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai are still operational from Jabalpur due to consistent demand. “Other routes are being operated via Delhi or Mumbai. There’s no direct flight now from Jabalpur to tier-2 or tier-3 cities. The only direct flight to Kolkata has also been cancelled. Airlines can’t operate in loss,” he said.

‘Flights cut for summer’

Bhopal Airport Director Ramji Awasthi said that reduction in certain flights is seasonal. “In summer, flights to cities like Udaipur and Jaipur are reduced, but they return in winter.

So flight operations change with seasons. It is not a drop in the number of flights. In fact, we are adding new connections. Overall, we have seen a 10% growth in air passengers at Bhopal and Indore,” he said.=