Bhubaneswar: Odisha Divas is being held in Dubai on Tuesday to mark the commencement of direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Dubai.
The event is being organised by Odisha government and Consulate General of India, Dubai.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the first-ever direct international flight service to Dubai at Biju Patnaik International Airport at 6.30 pm on Monday. As many as 170 passengers, including 62 delegates from the state, took the maiden flight to Dubai after IndiGo Airlines’ Airbus-320 aircraft carrying 174 passengers arrived here at 5.20 pm. They were accorded a warm welcome by Minister of State for Tourism Ashwini Patra and Commerce and Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu.
Special arrangements were made to see off the travellers from Odisha. They were felicitated with Uttariya, Odisha Tourism kit bag and offered sweets and flowers.
The flight will run three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
While the CM described May 15 as a new chapter for Odisha with Dubai, a major travel and tourism junction in the Middle East, providing gateway to the European and the US markets, the government is woking to further improve connectivity with Southeast Asia with direct flights to Singapore and Bangkok from early June.
