Daman gets first direct air link to Delhi as Alliance Air launches services from NAMO Airport
New Delhi, July 17. Daman entered India’s civil aviation network on July 16 with the launch of its first direct commercial flight to Delhi, as Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu flagged off Alliance Air’s inaugural service from the newly operational NAMO Airport.
The inaugural Daman-Delhi-Daman flight was flagged off in the presence of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Administrator Praful Patel, senior officials of the Union Territory Administration, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Alliance Air, the Indian Coast Guard and local residents.
The airport, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 5 after the foundation stone for its civil terminal was laid in April 2023, operates as a dual-use facility from the Indian Coast Guard Air Station (ICGAS), Daman. Developed by the Union Territory Administration at a cost of ₹124 crore, with ₹88 crore reimbursed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the airport features a 3,700-square-metre terminal built on a 25-acre site. It is currently capable of handling 14 ATR aircraft movements daily and has an annual passenger handling capacity of 3.67 lakh.
Addressing the gathering, Naidu described the launch as a historic milestone for the region, saying the new service would reduce travel time between Daman and Delhi from eight to 10 hours by road via Surat or Mumbai to about two-and-a-half hours by air. He credited the Prime Minister’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme for making the long-pending air link a reality.
The minister said the union territory had witnessed implementation of more than 450 development projects worth over ₹13,000 crore over the past 12 years and noted that the airport had been named ‘NAMO Airport’ in recognition of the Prime Minister’s role in fulfilling the region’s long-standing demand for air connectivity.
Highlighting the economic significance of the airport, Naidu said the union territory’s more than 7,000 industries, along with over 15,000 industrial units in neighbouring Vapi and Valsad, would benefit from improved connectivity through faster movement of people and goods, greater investment and enhanced employment opportunities.
He also underscored Daman’s tourism potential, noting that the destination attracts around 20 lakh visitors annually. The ministry, he said, plans to expand the airport by extending the runway to accommodate larger aircraft such as Airbus A320s and improve connectivity with cities including Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad and Patna.
Drawing a comparison with Diu Airport, Naidu said passenger traffic there had risen from around 19,000 annually in 2013 to more than one lakh at present. He added that the government is working on a new terminal and a longer runway at Diu Airport to meet growing demand.
The minister said the airport would also strengthen the region’s blue economy by enabling fisheries, marine products and processed food from Daman to reach markets across the country within hours, while also benefiting the local pharmaceutical industry.
Naidu reiterated that the Centre had extended the UDAN scheme for 10 more years. Under the modified programme, ₹29,000 crore has been earmarked to develop 100 new airports and 200 new helipads over the next decade to further expand regional air connectivity across India.
Administrator Praful Patel described NAMO Airport as a transformative project for the industrial corridor stretching from Valsad in Gujarat to Palghar in Maharashtra. He expressed confidence that the airport would expand significantly over the next 15 years and emerge as a major driver of economic growth and employment in the region.
The launch of commercial flight operations from NAMO Airport marks a significant addition to India’s regional aviation network and advances the government’s objective of improving air connectivity to smaller cities under the UDAN scheme.
(Images from X)
