Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday requested the Centre to introduce a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Pradhan made this request in a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
He mentioned that there has been a steady growth in the number of international passengers, especially tourists and non-resident Indians (NRIs), ever since flight operations began at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar in 2015.
“It is now understood that there is a strong demand from the NRI Odia community and the Odia people working in the Middle East for a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah. This will immensely benefit the large number of Odia workers travelling to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Riyadh, Bahrain and other Gulf cities,” he wrote.
Stating that the AirAsia is operating one direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) at present, he said Biju Patnaik International Airport is one of India’s fastest-growing airports with a growth rate of 41 per cent with over 32 lakh footfalls in 2017-18. A slew of passenger convenience and airport expansion projects is currently underway and these will boost air traffic to the city airport.
Reminding the Civil Aviation minister of an MoU signed between SpiceJet Airlines and the UAE to start a new airline in Ras-Al-Khaimah, Dharmendra said the MoU shall be helpful if it can be recommended to the SpiceJet to consider Ras-Al-Khaimah connectivity from Bhubaneswar.
“Keeping in mind the benefit of the people of Odisha, I request your personal intervention in the commencement of a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Ras-Al-Khaimah city at the earliest as the proposed flight will further strengthen our bilateral relationship with UAE and bolster the business between the two countries,” he pointed out.
