Berhampur: Following criticism from various quarters for not announcing the flight schedules from Rangeilunda airstrip in Odisha’s Berhampur city to Bhubaneswar, the state government has come out with the details of the air services.
The Department of Commerce and Transport on Saturday issued the schedule of the nine-seater IndiaOne Air flight from March 12 to 29.
The flight will take almost one hour from Rangeilunda airstrip, located close to the Berhampur University, to Bhubaneswar. The scheduled time of departure of the flight from Rangeilunda is 10.25 am on March 12, 10.15 am on March 15, 10.20 am on March 19, 10.25 am on March 22, 10.20 on March 26 and 10.15 am on March 29, sources said.
The district administration has initiated steps for advanced ticket booking for the flights during these 17 days when the plane would land at Rangeilunda airstrip for six days on March 12, 15, 19, 22, 26 and 29.
The charges of the air fare would be Rs 1200 plus additional tax, said Ganjam district collector Dibya Jyoti Parida. For advanced booking from Rangeilunda, one can contact the senior assistant Uddhav Sethi of the Collectorate on his mobile number 8280085437.
A non-scheduled flight of IndiaOne Air plane took off for the first time from Rangeilunda to Bhubaneswar on March 5, the birth anniversary of legendary leader and former chief minister Odisha Biju Patnaik followed by another non-scheduled flight on March 6.
IndiaOne Air is the first scheduled airline in India to operate a single-engine aircraft. The airline aims to connect tier II & III cities with metropolitan cities and provide safe, efficient, cost-effective, and on time services. It has nine pax seats with a maximum speed limit of 350 kmph.
“We are determined to upgrade Rangeilunda airstrip to operate 19-seater plane by developing infrastructure facilities which will be completed by October. Rangeilunda airstrip is presently having a 800 meter plus long runway and we are planning to extend it upto 1000 metre by acquiring 15 acre of adjoining private land. An irrigation canal passing through the area would also be diverted for which the process has already been started,” the collector said.
Rangeilunda airstrip, established in the British era during the World War II, was used only on handful occasions for flight operations during the arrival of dignitaries earlier.
