Tirupati: Andhra Pradesh chief minister who is accustomed to flying special planes now insists on plying airplanes in areas even when there are not enough passengers available to run them on a regular basis.

According to the Viability Group Funding, if the service providers face a loss, it will be borne by the government. This is the mantra that will make a way for running air services on routes such as Vijayawada - Tirupati and Vijaywada - Kadapa which is to be serviced by Trujet.

Tollywood star Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Tej sits on the board of Trujet. They have reportedly won the tender to ply on these two routes. It is learnt that the AP government has presently approved a payment of Rs.4.90 crore to Trujet.

According to the terms, in return for the government's support funding, Trujet will allocate five seats on every flight on the two routes to the government, free of cost. Trujet is to run the ATR 72 model which has a seating capacity of 72.

Trujet would have to run the service 672 times a year, irrespective of whether there are passengers or not. For this the government would pay the airlines a sum of Rs.9.76 crore through the Viability Group Fund.

The government has issued a GO to disburse a payment of Rs.4.90 crore for the first six months.