PURNEA, Oct. 5 -- IndiGo Airlines has announced to launch daily direct flights between the newly built Purnea Airport and Delhi from October 26 - the second day of the four-day Chhath festival, which offers prayers to both the setting and rising Sun God. The demand for a direct flight to the national capital has been growing since the opening of the airport on September 15, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it. According to Purnea Airport Director DK Gupta, the flight from Delhi will take off at 10:45 a.m. and land at Purnea Airport at 12:50 p.m., while the return flight will depart at 1:50 p.m. and reach Delhi by 3:55 p.m. daily. The starting fare from Purnea to Delhi is Rs.6,300 and from Delhi to Purnea around Rs.5,000. He said a direct flight to Hyderabad will also start in the coming days. Expressing his happiness over the launch of the direct flight between Purnea and Delhi, Group Captain (Retd) Vishwajeet Kumar said, "Our joy knows no bounds, and for us it is the end of a 14-year exile (Vanvas), as we first conceived the dream of a flight from Purnea in 2011." He expressed satisfaction over both the timings and the fare. "The fare is affordable, and we hope it will suit a lot of people waiting for it in Purnea and the Kosi divisions, besides Bhagalpur, for a long time." Kumar, along with other civil society members, has been campaigning for the Purnea Airport for 14 years. It may be recalled that Kumar had introduced a 10-seater Spirit Airways service linking Purnea to Kolkata and Patna in 2012. However, the services were discontinued a year later due to the lack of proper civil airport infrastructure. "But it worked wonders as it succeeded in igniting the public imagination of the people in Purnea and the Kosi divisions," he added. Purnea Airport is expected to end the stigma attached to Purnea and the Kosi divisions, which comprise seven districts with 37 Assembly segments and seven Parliamentary constituencies. Since its inauguration on September 15, the airport has been offering daily flights to Kolkata by IndiGo and Star Air, and flights to Ahmedabad four times a week - which will become daily from October 15. According to reports, airlines have recorded over 90% seat occupancy on all flights since the airport's inauguration, indicating strong passenger demand. In 2023, the campaign for the civil airport had gained momentum through the social platform....