Raurkela: Alliance Air is gearing up to resume operations of its 72-seater ATR-72 aircraft on the aourkela-Bhubaneswar and Raurkela-Kolkata routes from October, nearly 14 months after suspending services in mid-2025.
The move follows recent video conference discussions between the airline and the Odisha government’s Transport Department covering technical arrangements, flight schedules and other operational requirements, with negotiations on Viability Gap Funding still underway and expected to reach a final stage soon.
The airline originally launched operations on the Raurkela–Bhubaneswar route in January 2023 under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN) and later expanded its schedule to include Rourkela–Kolkata. However, Alliance Air halted its 72-seater ATR-72 flights from the steel city around mid-2025. Following a temporary gap, nine-seater aircraft operated by IndiaOne Air took over the Raurkela–Bhubaneswar sector in December 2025 as a state-backed interim solution.
The return of the larger 72-seater aircraft will significantly scale up passenger capacity on both the Bhubaneswar and Kolkata sectors.
RN Pali MLA Durga Charan Tanti confirmed the development following a high-level meeting with Odisha Commerce and Transport Principal Secretary NBS Rajput. While final dates are being worked out, officials anticipate that commercial operations will resume in October after routine maintenance of the carrier’s ATR fleet is completed.
Alongside the flight resumption, parallel efforts are underway for a complete structural transition of Raurkela Airport. Currently owned by the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the airport’s ownership is slated to transfer to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
On July 11, the SAIL board formally approved the ownership transfer along with allocating additional land for airport expansion. The proposal will soon be presented to the Union Cabinet by the Ministry of Steel for final clearance. To maintain continuous airfield management during the transition, SAIL and AAI executed an extended Operation and Management (O&M) agreement in July, valid for up to 12 months, with the Odisha government agreeing to cover annual operational costs of approximately ₹3.72 crore.
Currently operating under an ARC 2C license, Raurkela Airport is also targeted for a major infrastructure upgrade. State plans outline transforming the facility to a 4C CAT 1 Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) standard, equipped with Doppler Very High Frequency Omni Range (DVOR) and CAT 1 Instrument Landing System (ILS) technology to facilitate round-the-clock operations for large-body commercial aircraft.