Overview
- Chief Minister Mohan Yadav flagged off the inaugural Air India Express Indore–Abu Dhabi flight on Wednesday, restarting international service from Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport after a four‑month gap.
- Air India Express will operate four weekly rotations on a 170‑seat Airbus A320 with published schedules that cut the nonstop flight time to about three hours and 15 minutes.
- The service runs under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Aviation Policy‑2025 which offers Viability Gap Funding up to Rs 15 lakh per international flight to make fares lower.
- Officials say the subsidy reduced advertised one‑way fares from roughly Rs 25,000 to about Rs 12,000 and initial manifests showed commercial loads on the inaugural departures and returns.
- Local MPs and airport authorities are seeking a master plan that includes a new terminal, a parallel taxiway and speedy allocation of 143 acres to handle expected passenger growth for events such as Simhastha 2028.