Bhubaneswar: The much-awaited Bhubaneswar to Surat flight service started Monday, taking 81 passengers onboard an Air India flight from Biju Patnaik International Airport at 8.40am.
The A321 Air India flight operating in the Bangalore-Bhubaneswar-Surat route reached at Surat International Airport 10.40am.
The flight will operate Mondays and Thursdays. It will leave Bangalore every Monday and Thursday at 6.10am and reach Bhubaneswar at 8.10am and take off for Surat at 8.40am. Similarly, every Fridays and Sundays it will leave Bangalore at 6.10am and reach Surat at 8am and leave for Bhubaneswar at 8.30am, landing at 10.30am.
While the lowest fare from Bhubaneswar to Surat quoted on its official website is Rs 4503, the return journey is to be of Rs 4213.
Notably, there are many Odia people living in Surat. Earlier, they used to go to Surat via Delhi. Seeking a direct flight connecting Bhubaneswar to Surat for the sake of the Odia contingent in Surat, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written a letter to the Minister of Civil Aviation following which Air India had evinced interest to fly a flight between the two cities. Later, Usha Padhee, joint secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation had informed about this facility through a tweet.
PNN