Pune: The first flight under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) service between Nashik and Pune by Air Deccan resumed after three months of suspension. The service will resume from June 21 with a slight change of arrival and departure timings.

Earlier, flight number DN 193 from Nashik (Ozar) to Pune would arrive at 7 pm and depart from Pune at 7.20 pm as flight number DN 194. Now, the flight number DN 193 will depart at 6.05 pm from Nashik and arrive at 6.45 pm at the Pune airport. Similarly, the flight number DN 194 will depart from Pune at 7.05 pm and arrive at Nashik at 7.45 pm.

The service was started in December 2017 and had been suspended since March. Sources from the airline said, “The Defence Ministry had given us landing rights at the Pune airport only for three months, which expired in February, following which our services on the Pune-Nashik route were suspended for nearly two months. The Pune and Nashik airports are within the Defence Ministry’s jurisdiction.”

Dhairyashil Vandekar, aviation expert & analyst, said, “It is heartening for passengers that Air Deccan is resuming its Pune-Nashik flights after the initial problems they faced due to operational issues, which resulted in the suspension of the flight. This flight will especially benefit passengers from Nashik as it will offer several onward connections ex-Pune. Nashik is an important city in the golden triangle of Maharashtra, along with Mumbai and Pune. The drought faced by citizens of Nashik since past many years with regard to air connectivity seems, at last, to be ending with Jet Airways commencing the Nashik-Delhi flight from June 15, 2018. These air connections will provide a great boost to the economy in Northern Maharashtra.”