Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ask the civil aviation ministry to ensure regular flight operations from Jharsuguda airport. He also demanded issuance of notification naming Jharsuguda airport as Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda.
“I may bring to your kind notice that Air Odisha has suspended flight operations from Jharsuguda after October 6, 2018 without any valid reason. The abrupt suspension of the existing operations has given a severe jolt to the aviation sector in the state and has also hurt the sentiments of the people of western Odisha,” Naveen wrote to Modi, Tuesday.
In order to make Jharsuguda Airport a full-fledged commercial airport, Naveen said he had also requested the Centre to consider introduction of commercial flights in addition to the UDAN flights.
The state government is committed to providing necessary fund and support for further expansion of Jharsuguda Airport, he assured. “I would like to urge upon you to kindly direct ministry of civil aviation for immediate restoration of UDAN flight operations and also explore the possibility of starting operations from Jharsuguda airport to other parts of the state and neighbouring states through any airline, either under-RCS-UDAN or otherwise,” the CM said in the letter.
He also requested the PM to instruct Air India to start the operation from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi via Jharsuguda so that people of western Odisha would be benefited.
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