Bhawanipatna: After the success of the trail run, the maiden flight from Utkela Airport, 15 km from the district headquarters of Bhawanipatna, will take off for Bhubaneswar at 12.45 pm on August 31, Odisha’s Kalahandi MP Basanta Panda tweeted.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia is expected to flag off the inaugural flight via video conferencing. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be present at Bhubaneswar airport and Commerce & Transport Tukuni Sahu along with the Kalahandi MP at Utkela Airport, sources said.
IndiaOne Air will engage a nine-seater aircraft to start air service between Utkela Airport and BPIA in Bhubaneswar in the first phase. The service is likely to be extended to Raipur in Chhattisgarh in the subsequent phase.
According to its official website, the airline will connect Utkela to Bhubaneswar with 2X weekly flights on Tuesday and Thursday. The flight will take off from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar at 7.15 am and arrive at Utkela at 8.25 am. It will leave the new airport at 8.50 am and land at Bhubaneswar at 10 am. The introductory one-way fare has been fixed at Rs 999 per passenger.
Utkela Airport is among the airstrips listed under the regional connectivity scheme UDAN. The state government has spent around Rs 162 crore for acquisition of land, construction of runway and terminal building for the airport in Bhawanipatna. Director General Civil Aviation Monday (DGCA) issued the licence to start flight operations on August 7.
The CM had earlier said that the flight operation from Utkela Airport will boost connectivity, commerce, and tourism, fulfilling the aspirations of the people of the region.
