Bhubaneswar: The flight operation from Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district to Bhubaneswar will start soon.
According to reliable sources, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued licence for operation of commercial flights at Utkela Airport near Bhawanipatna. The Utkela airstrip has been designated to be developed as a regional airport under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN of the Central government.
A team led by DGCA’s regional deputy director, Chief Aviation Security Officer (CASO), nodal authorities of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CISF had visited the airstrip last month to assess the facilities and other safety benchmarks in presence of officials of the Works department.
The team had expressed satisfaction with the facilities to grant 2B licence to the airstrip. They had suggested few compliances which were addressed by the authorities.
In March, a five-member team of DGCA from Delhi and Bhubaneswar had inspected the airport and reviewed the proposal of flight connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Bhawanipatna.
