Those wanting to fly to Patna from Ranchi will be left with no options from Sunday with GoAir deciding to temporarily suspend services between the two state capitals even as it announced a new link between Ranchi and Chennai.

The airline has come out with a new timetable for its services from Birsa Munda Airport, which would come into effect from October 28.

At present, the airlines run a morning service (G8 341) from Delhi to Ranchi via Patna. However, from October 28, the flight would come directly to Ranchi from Delhi instead of through Patna, albeit with a new flight number (G8 143). The same flight (now numbered G8 144) will go back to Delhi directly from Ranchi. At present, the flight arrives in Ranchi at 7.30am and leaves for Delhi at 7.55am. From Sunday, it would arrive in Ranchi at 8.40am and leave for Delhi at 9.10am. The changes are likely to remain in effect till March.

“Patna gets heavy fog in the morning during winter. Hence, we decided to bring our morning flight from Delhi directly to Ranchi, instead of routing it through Patna,” said D. Sharma, a GoAir executive.

From Sunday, GoAir flight G8 608 (to be named G 385), which flies Mumbai-Patna-Ranchi-Mumbai, will arrive in Ranchi at 2.50pm and leave for Mumbai by 3.15pm. At present, the flight reaches Ranchi at 1pm and leaves for Mumbai at 1.30pm. This same flight, after reaching Mumbai at 6pm, will proceed for Chennai, thereby offering the passengers of the state capital air connectivity to the south. The flight will reach Chennai at 7.30pm.

“Till now, there was no link between Ranchi and Chennai. The new arrangement will help passengers immensely,” said Sharma.

The timing of the GoAir evening flight on the Delhi-Ranchi-Delhi sector, however, will remain unchanged. The flight reaches Birsa Munda Airport at 7.40pm and leaves for Delhi at 8.05pm.

Apart from GoAir, Jet Airways and Air India fly from Birsa Munda Airport for different destinations. While Jet Airways operates flights on the Ranchi-Delhi and Ranchi-Calcutta sectors, Air India flies on the Ranchi-Delhi sector alone. From Delhi, the Jet Airways flight arrives in Ranchi at 12.05pm and leaves for Delhi at 12.45pm. Its Calcutta-Ranchi-Calcutta flight arrives in Ranchi at 7pm and leaves for Calcutta at 7.30pm.

Air India’s flight from Delhi arrives in Ranchi at 2.40pm and leaves at 3.25pm.