Updated: Mon, 22 Dec 2025 02:47 (IST) Flight service at Shravasti Airport has come to a standstill after 10 months. PM Modi virtually inaugurated it. Passengers face problems due to closure of flight service…read more Flight service at Shravasti airport has come to a standstill after 10 months. Sanjay Rastogi, Ikauna (Shravasti). On 23 December 2024, flights from Shravasti Airport were banned due to poor visibility due to fog. Which could not start even after a year. This has caused disappointment among tourists, area residents and unemployed youth. Due to the closure of flights due to systemic defects, the dream of flying by air in the aspirational district is fading. Remove Advertisement Read Only News In the year 1993, the then Governor Moti Lal Bora laid the foundation stone of the Shravasti airstrip. On 22 May 1997, the then Chief Minister Mayawati inaugurated the terminus building. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the virtual launch on March 10, 2024. The first passenger flight began on March 12, which came to a halt on December 23, 2024. The terminal building, runway and parking lot built here have become mere objects of mock drill. The dream project of the district has been closed even after three decades of waiting. The airport was seen as a driving force for regional development, tourism and employment. Within 10 months, that month became a symbol of the indifference of the system. The flights that started with great demands and dreams are now at a standstill and the airport lies deserted. Due to the non-start of flights, the dreams of taxi drivers, tour guides, hotel-restaurant operators, dhabas and other tourism-related people seem to have been shattered. The irony is that hundreds of hectares of fertile agricultural land were used in the construction of the airport. The farmers gave the land in the hope that the picture of the area would change, but their dream is also unfulfilled. People said, there is no one to provide information. Sarafa Association Treasurer Abhimanyu Soni said that there is no system to provide information about the start or stop of flights at Shravasti Airport. Because of this, people have to wander from the area when necessary. Flights should be started according to the needs of the residents of the area. Farmer leader Umashankar Mishra said the airport has been closed for a long time after the flights started. There is disappointment among the people because of this. In December last year, flights from Shravasti airport were suspended due to fog. Now, regular flights are likely to start only after the expansion of the airport. -Afzal Ahmed, Director, Shravasti Airport.