Bhubaneswar: The first international flight services directly from Bhubaneswar to Dubai will take off on Monday.
Flight operator IndiGo will fly Airbus-320 from Biju Patnaik International Airport in the city to the Gulf megapolis thrice a week. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had launched the ticket sale of the flight on April 1 on the occasion of Utkal Diwas.
Speaking about the flight in his official Twitter handle, the chief minister said, “Fulfilling the aspirations of people, Odisha will start direct flight services to Dubai from 15th May. Odisha is the 1st state in India to support international air connectivity. The flights, to be operationalised by Indigo, will open a whole new world of opportunities for Odias.”
The government expects boost to tourism and creation of job opportunities with direct connectivity to Dubai. Besides tourism, IT and manufacturing sectors will benefit from the flight services. Moreover, it is likely to attract huge foreign direct investment in the state.
While the starting one way fare from Bhubaneswar to Dubai has been fixed at Rs 10,000, the round trip will cost Rs 20,000, the chief minister said in the tweet.