Watch | Passengers dressed as Lord Ram and Sita arrive at Ahmedabad airport to board first flight to Ayodhya

A video of some passengers dressed as Lord Ram, Lord Lakshman, Goddess Sita, and Lord Hanuman has surfaced online. They were travelling on IndiGo's inaugural flight to Ayodhya, ahead of the grand ceremony in the temple town on January 22.

The first flight from Gujarat to Ayodhya left from the Ahmedabad airport on Thursday morning, as per media reports.

In a video posted by ANI on Twitter, passengers can be seen celebrating the moments and offering sweets to each other.

The budget carrier commenced flights to Ayodhya from Delhi on January 6. It is planning to introduce direct flights from Mumbai in the coming weeks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham on December 30.

On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said 100 chartered flights are expected to land at the Ayodhya airport for the ‘pran pratishtha’ or consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir on January 22, PTI reported.

Adityanath was speaking at the virtual function to inaugurate the Ayodhya to Ahmedabad flight by IndiGo.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) took charge of the Ayodhya airport security with the deployment of more than 150 personnel.

The Ayodhya airport is the country’s 68th civil airport terminal to come under the umbrella of the specialised Aviation Security Group of the central force.

The temple town in Uttar Pradesh is expected to welcome a massive influx of devotees with the grand opening of the Ram Mandir.

PM Modi will attend the grand ceremony at the temple in January, while the Ram temple trust has sent invitations to eminent personalities from all walks of life.

“The program in Ayodhya is a very important day for the country and the whole world. Extensive security arrangements are being made for it. Monitoring is also being done through CCTV. Better arrangements will be made to ensure that all the devotees coming on the day of the program and after that do not face any kind of inconvenience in Ayodhya. More than 10,000 CCTVs have been installed,” ANI quoted Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar as saying.