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Spirit Air to Launch UDAN Flights Across Bihar

2025-08-07

Spirit Air has announced its phased flight operations plan in Bihar under the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship regional connectivity scheme, UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), aiming to improve air access across underserved towns in the state.

The airline will commence services from upcoming regional airports in Birpur, Saharsa, Munger, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Raxaul, Valmiki Nagar, and Bihta. The announcement followed a high-level meeting between Subodh Verma, the promoter of Spirit Air, and S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), Government of Bihar.

According to the company, routes under the initial phase will connect Bihar towns to Varanasi with onward links to Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad; and to Bengaluru with further connectivity to Hyderabad and Chennai through partner carriers. Additionally, Bihta airport will enable direct access to Patna, Jamshedpur, and Bokaro.

In Phase II, Spirit Air plans to introduce cross-border connectivity, linking Muzaffarpur, Birpur, Valmiki Nagar, and Bihta with various cities in Nepal, including Kathmandu, Janakpur, Rajbiraj, Biratnagar, and Bhairahawa.

This initiative is aligned with the Government of India’s vision of making air travel accessible for the average citizen and accelerating regional economic growth. The airline’s fleet for these UDAN operations will include versatile aircraft such as the Islander BN2T-4S-STOL — suitable for passenger, cargo, and medevac missions — and the high-performance, pressurised King Air 250.

Separately, the Bihar Cabinet, in June 2025, approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the state’s Directorate of Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the development of airports in six towns. These include Madhubani, Birpur (Supaul), Munger, Valmiki Nagar (Bettiah), Muzaffarpur, and Saharsa. An allocation of Rs 1.5 billion, or Rs 250 million for each airport, has been set aside for this initiative.