Uttar Pradesh set to get third international airport in this city soon

Feb 24,2021

Uttar Pradesh set to get third international airport in this city soon

Uttar Pradesh is set to get the third international airport as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given all the necessary clearances for the Kushinagar Airport to operate international flights, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri informed on Tuesday.

"Kushinagar Airport gets necessary clearances from DGCA to become 3rd licensed international airport of UP. Will boost tourism in the region & facilitate travel on Buddhist circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana.," Puri said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Union Cabinet had in June last year approved the Kushinagar airport's status as an international facility. After this airport starts international flights, it will be the state's third functional international facility, offering improved connectivity to several key Buddhist pilgrim sites.

Presently, the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi are the two international airports in Uttar Pradesh.

Kushinagar will serve as the closest international airport to several Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, and Kapilvastu.

Earlier, the government had said that on any given day, around 200-300 devotees from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar, among others, come to offer prayers at Kushinagar.