Odisha Govt Seeks Night Landing At Rourkela Airport Ahead Of Men’s Hockey World Cup

Rourkela: The Odisha government has urged the Centre to take necessary steps for the installation of night landing facilities at Rourkela airport ahead of FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023.

Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra wrote a letter to Union Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal stating that there is a need for night landing facilities at the airport for flight operations after sunset.

“It would also encourage private air operators to participate in the UDAN scheme for flight services. The state government would extend all necessary support as and when required,” Mahapatra said. He has also urged the central official to instruct Airport Authority of India (AAI) to take necessary steps for installation of night landing facilities at the Rourkela airport prior to the World Cup.

Notably, the airport has been licensed for category 2B with day operations as per visual flight rules (VFR). In view of Hockey World Cup 2023, which is scheduled to be held from January 13 to 29 at Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, steps are being taken for early completion of upgradation work for 2C category for commencement of commercial flight operation under RCS-UDAN.

It is pertinent to mention here that, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL and AAI had signed a fresh MoU for operation and management of the airport for commercial use under the UDAN scheme on October 28. The operation of commercial flights from the airport is expected to begin from December 5.

Alliance Air is learnt to have emerged as the operator for Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route and talks are underway with other airlines for the Rourkela-Kolkata route.