Jharsuguda: A Boeing-737 of Indian Air Force (IAF) made a trial landing at the newly built Jharsuguda airport, ahead of its inauguration on September 22.
The IAF plane with two pilots and a technical officer flew from New Delhi and reached the new airport at 1 pm on Tuesday. They reviewed the infrastructure and flew back to Indira Gandhi International Airport after 30 minutes, according to reports.
The long-awaited Jharsuguda airport will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It has been built over 909.22 acre at a cost of Rs 175 crore, of which Rs 50 crore has been invested by the state government.
Air Odisha and other airlines have expressed interest in starting flights from the airport.
On May 4, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had accorded aerodrome licence to the Jharsuguda airport, the second in the state after Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.