Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia along with the Minister of State Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd.) inaugurated a direct flight from Kolhapur to Mumbai today.
This flight has been launched under the ambitious RCS UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to provide air connectivity to tier-2 and tier -3 cities and affordable air travel for all.
The flight will operate between Kolhapur and Mumbai thrice a week- Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as per the following schedule:
| Flt No. | From | To | Freq | Dep. Time | Arr. Time | Eff. from | |
| S5 161 | BOM | KLH | 2,4,6 | 1030 hrs | 1125hrs | 4th October 2022 | |
| S5 162 | KLH | BOM | 2,4,6 | 1150 hrs | 1245hrs | 4th October 2022 |
In his inaugural address, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the UDAN scheme is realising Prime Minister’s vision of making the air travel affordable for the common citizen of the country. So far 433 new routes have been launched and more than one crore passengers have been benefitted under this scheme. The Minister also assured that the expansion the apron of the Kolhapur airport will be commissioned in November and domestic terminal building will be inaugurated in March 2023.
MOS, Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd.) congratulated the people of Kolhapur and Mumbai, and expressed hope that this flight will not only create ease of travel but also significantly boost the trade and commerce activities in the regions.
The inauguration was graced by Shri Sanjay Mandlik MP (Kolhapur), Shri Dhairyasheel Mane, MP (Hatkanangle), Shri Dhananjay Mahadik, MP (RS), Shri Chandrakant Patil Cabinet Minister (Govt. of Maharashtra). In addition, Smt. Usha Padhee Additional Secretary, MOCA, Mr. Sanjay Ghodawat Chairman – Star Air, Capt. Simran Singh Tiwana, CEO, Star Air and other dignitaries from the MoCA, AAI and Star Air were also present.