Jharsuguda Airport Posts Record Passenger Traffic

Jharsuguda: The Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) airport has posted record passenger traffic between Jharsuguda and Delhi in the past month.

Budget airline SpiceJet started operating daily direct flights from VSS airport to Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata on March 31. It flies a 78-seater Bombardier Q400 series aircraft from VSS to the three metro cities.

Talking to mediapersons here on Sunday evening, VSS airport director S.K. Chauhan said flights between Jharsuguda to Delhi and between Delhi to Jharsuguda had grown by 95 per cent and 93 per cent respectively.

Besides, there was about 70 per cent average air traffic between Hyderabad and Jharsuguda and back, while the average occupancy from Kolkata to Jharsuguda and back was 60 per cent during the same period,” Chauhan said.

In the past month, VSS airport has handled about 350 (75%) passengers daily, taking them to the three aforesaid destinations and back.

The total number of passengers who flew from VSS airport to other destinations in the past month is 4,692 (about 170 passengers daily) while 5,120 passengers (about 185 passengers daily) arrived at the airport during the period.

Stating that Alliance Air is going to launch its flight service from this airport in the second week of June, airport director Chauhan said the airport will handle about 20 flights daily after other private airlines who have obtained UDAN licence resume flights.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Jharsuguda airport on September 22, last year. However, operations at the airport stopped after around 15 days when Air Odisha airline suspended flight services.