Gaya, May 30: Dull tourist season is good for domestic flights in Gaya. With the operations of international flights suspended, plans are afoot to start a Calcutta-Gaya-Delhi domestic flight.

The dull tourist season starts in April and continues till September. Flight operations of different international airways, including Air India, Druk Air, Thai Airways, Myanmar Airlines, Air Bagan and Mihin Lanka, have been suspended from April 30.

Besides the domestic flight, a flight to Kathmandu can also be introduced in the dull tourist season.

Gaya airport sources confirmed the development. They also said there was a proposal to start some domestic flights on regular basis. The necessity to launch domestic flights has been felt for long and now it was likely to be finalised, said an official of Gaya airport.

Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country come to Gaya to offer pinddaan at Vishnupad temple. Besides, the inflow of foreign and national tourists at Bodhgaya has also increased after the Mahabodhi Mahavihara was included in the world heritage list by Unesco in June 2002. The Gaya airport became re-operational from the same year.

Demands are being made from non-resident Biharis settled in the Gulf countries for direct flights to Gaya. Besides, people residing in different parts of the country have been demanding air-connectivity to Gaya from metro cities like Delhi, Calcutta and Mumbai. The demands have been posted on the Internet (http://www.ourairports.com/airports/VEGY/) by several people.

One Priya Zahir has posted the demand for Gaya-Delhi and Gaya-Mumbai flights. Another person preferring anonymity has urged chief minister Nitish Kumar to look into the matter so that direct flights from the Gulf countries to Gaya could be started. He added that a large number of people from Bihar were working in the Gulf countries and they face difficulties in coming home.

According to sources, the Gaya airport is four times bigger than Patna airport. Flying to Bihar from the Gulf countries would be easier if flights on this route are started.

Since Gaya airport became operational in 2002 during the tenure of then civil aviation minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, who also announced to accord it the status of “open sky”, a number of international flights were being operated from here. Open sky policy is that the sky is not limited to regional or national carriers only. International flights are also welcome to operate in the country.

The Gaya airport offers more than 25 regular flights every week from places like Bangkok, Myanmar and Colombo during the tourist season.