Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday sought the Centre’s intervention for quick restoration of Air India flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok and Bengaluru.
Raising concern over suspension of the Air India (AI) flights, the Chief Minister, in a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, also urged him to explore the possibility of starting international air operations from Bhubaneswar to other South East Asian countries in view of the immense potential in these routes.
“It is a matter of serious concern that very recently Air India has suspended the direct flight services from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok and Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru,” Patnaik said.
Though Bhubaneswar airport got international tag October 30, 2010, the flight from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok by AI was flagged off December 10, 2017, he said in his letter.
“It was expected that Air India would subsequently expand its operations to other destinations like Singapore, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. But, the abrupt suspension of the existing operations has been a severe jolt to the aviation and tourism sector in the state,” Patnaik said.
Similarly, the withdrawal of the domestic flight between Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar has come as a setback for the IT industry in the state, he said. “I would, therefore, like to urge upon you to impress Air India management to restore the operations forthwith and also explore the possibility to start international operations from Bhubaneswar to other South East Asian countries considering the immense potential in these routes,” the chief minister said.
NEW FLIGHT
The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) authorities have announced launch of a direct flight between the state capital and Ahmedabad to be operated by popular low-cost airline IndiGo. The flight will start within a few days.
Airport director Suresh Chandra Hota said the authorities have also urged two airlines — IndiGo and AirAsia — to start operations between Bhubaneswar and Pune.
Since there are no slots open for Pune, BPIA authorities have requested the two airlines to connect Pune from Kolkata via Bhubaneswar, sources said.
Indigo will also be starting a new daily flight between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata August 1.
Ahmedabad will become the 9th city to be directly connected to Bhubaneswar. There are direct flights between Bhubaneswar and New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kuala Lumpur.