Jeypore: Intra-state commercial air services are likely to start from the Jeypore airstrip in Koraput district in the first week of February.
Sources said the airstrip’s construction is in progress. Although the project is almost complete, some work is still pending and that would be over by March.
The formalities required to obtain permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are also almost complete. The district administration is likely to apply for a licence in the last week of January, the sources said.
After Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda, the Jeypore airport will be the third to get the civil aviation airport tag in the state. As of now flights are planned from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Hyderabad.
The airstrip built in the 1960s was used whenever ministers or VIPs visited the town. In the 1980s, Vayudoot operated flights from the Jeypore airstrip. But the service was stopped after the flight crashed without injuring anyone.
Officials from the Air Traffic Control (ATC)-Communication are likely to visit the airport this week for inspecting works and to review air traffic control facilities.
The runway’s width has been expanded to 24 metres from 15 metres. Similarly, a boundary wall extending 2.5 km has been built around the airstrip.
The tourism industry of undivided Koraput district is expected to get a shot in the arm if flights operate regularly to Jeypore.
Flight services from Jeypore were stopped in December 2016. Last year, the airstrip was included under the UDAN scheme for regional air connectivity.
With the proposed resumption of air services, there is now hope for launching regular flights from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar.
Air Odisha had started flights from Jeypore in 2016, but its services were stopped as it was using single engine planes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the second airport of the state at Jharsuguda in October last year. There were plans to launch flights from Jeypore airstrip on UDAN routes from September 2017, but it got delayed due to infrastructure problems.
BJP workers and the people of undivided Koraput are expecting the PM to come and inaugurate flight services from Jeypore.
PNN