TruJet (TRJ, Hyderabad International) commenced services to Bidar, in the northeastern part of Karnataka State in India, on February 7 becoming the former Indian Air Force airbase's first scheduled service. The carrier will connect Bidar to Bengaluru International daily with its ATR72-500s and -600s.
As a result of the service, Bidar becomes the eighth operational commercial airport in the Karnataka region of India, joining Bengaluru International, Mangalore Bajpe, Hubli, Belgaum, Mysore, Vidyanagar, and Gulbarga. The 282 nautical-mile (522-kilometre) sector, which has a block time of around 90 minutes, replaces a 12-hour road journey.
The airport has benefitted from an INR110 million rupee (USD1.5 million) revamp under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - also known as Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) - borne by the state and central governments.
With the start of the Bangalore-Bidar route, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has successfully overseen the start-up of 252 routes and 45 airports under this flagship scheme.
Trujet has a fleet of just six aircraft, consisting of four ATR72-500s and two ATR72-600s. Hyderabad International is the airline's biggest operation, with over 5,500 weekly seats operated to nine domestic destinations. From Bangalore, TruJet offers daily service to Vidyanagar, also in Karnataka State.
