Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday urged Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu to introduce direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Surat (Gujarat).
In a letter to Prabhu, Naveen said lakhs of Odia families are settled in Surat and are engaged in the textile industry there. However, there is no direct air connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Surat, he stated.
“It takes a lot of time to travel by air between these two cities. During urgency, the Odia families living in Surat face untold difficulties reaching Odisha in time,” said the chief minister.
Naveen also said that direct air connectivity between the two cities will boost tourism in both the states.
“Therefore, I request you to impress upon Air India and private airlines to introduce direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Surat at the earliest,” he added.
Earlier, the CM had requested the Centre to introduce direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Pune in February which is yet to be considered by the Civil Aviation Ministry.