Bhubaneswar: The maiden direct flight form Dubai arrived at Biju Patnaik International Airport here for its inaugural take off from Bhubaneswar on Monday.
The Indigo flight, which landed at Bhubaneswar airport with 174 passengers, will take off for Dubai later this evening. The maiden direct flight was welcomed with customary water cannons.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate the direct flight service from Bhubaneswar to Dubai.
“Inaugural direct flight between Dubai-Bhubaneswar has taken off which is fully sponsored by #Odisha Govt. Direct flight service by @IndiGo6E to Dubai, one of the biggest travel hubs, will open the world for the people of Odisha, giving a boost to investment, trade & tourism,” the Chief Minister’s office tweeted.
“#Odisha is the first state in India to support international air connectivity in the interest of people. Connectivity to #Dubai will open a gateway to the Gulf & Western countries, offering seamless & economic travel option to Odia people working in these regions. #OdishaOnTheMove,” the CMO said.
This will be the maiden international flight for Bhubaneswar airport with Indigo’s Airbus-320 commencing service, opening the gateway to south-east Asian countries. IndiGo will operate the service thrice a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Naveen had launched ticket sales for the flight on Utkal Dibasa (April 1). Inaugural ticket prices were pegged at Rs 10,000 (one way) Rs 20,000 for a round trip.
The first eight tickets were distributed by the CM to Mission Shakti women, athletes, tribal leaders, and artists. The ticket recipients included Sundargarh SDC Chairperson Binay Kumar Toppo, Keonjhar SDC Chairperson Laxmi Nayak, Koraput DLF President Jyotirekha Chetty, Sand Artist Sudarshan Patnaik, Footballer Anuradha Biswal, Shooter Shriyanka Sadangi, Balaram Rout from Jajpur Govt Polytechnic, and Himansu Sahoo from Rourkela Govt ITI.
Thanking Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia for facilitating the services, Naveen said a large delegation from the state will travel on the first flight to Dubai.
The flight service was a promise which the CM had made to investor community and Odia Diaspora during Make In Odisha Conclave in Dubai last year to ease travel from the Middle East.
Soon, flights to Singapore and Bangkok from Bhubaneswar will also commence.
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