Soon the devotees to Shirdi can fly from three different cities in India starting from next month. Shirdi airport wll be the first developed airport which will be managed by Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) in Ahmednagar district. This airport will be connected to Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad initially.

Even while the MADC was formed in the year 2002, not a single airport was developed. Shirdi will be the first greenfield airport in the state.

Talking to The Times of India, Vishwas M. Patil, chairman and managing director, MADC, said, "The airport at Shirdi is almost ready and will be operated by MADC. Flight operations will start from next month. As far as CAG's observations are concerned, I will not be able to comment."

According to Patil, MADC will first operate domestic flights from Shirdi. Later, international flights will also be started. "MADC is currently working on the details," Patil said.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has sanctioned project around Rs 340.54 crore for this airport.

Few of the routes expected to run from Shirdi are Shirdi-Hyderabad, Shirdi-Delhi, Shirdi-Mumbai among others. More routes will also be added once the airport starts functioning from next month.