After getting the nod from the DGCA, Odisha’s Utkela airport in the tribal-dominated district of Kalahandi on Thursday welcomed its first flight from Bhubaneswar.
A 9-seater flight of IndiaOne Airlines took off for Utkela Airport from Bhubaneswar at around 10:05 AM today morning.
Tukuni Sahu, Minister of Commerce & Transport Department became the first passenger to fly to Utkela from Bhubaneswar.
“The dream of many people has finally been fulfilled. So, I thank CM Naveen Patnaik for his vision. There are a few things which need to be sorted, so the flight will only fly two days a week. Steps are being taken to ensure that the flight services commence every day of the week,” Tukuni Sahu said.
Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel, Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated the flight services virtually from Delhi while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off the flight services from Bhubaneswar airport.
Kalahandi MP Basanta Kumar Panda, Bhawanipatna MLA Pradipta Kumar Naik and other officials welcomed the flight with their presence at Utkela Airport.
The scheduled flight will take off at 7:15 AM from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar and arrive at Utkela Airport at 8:25 AM. The same aircraft will depart from Utkela at 8:50 AM and arrive at Bhubaneswar at 10 AM.
The Utkela airport received DGCA approval for flight operations on August 7. The airstrip at Utkela, just 20 km from district headquarters in Bhawanipatna, was built in 1962.
“Safety of every passenger and the aircraft is our first priority. There is a lot of uncertainty due to weather conditions in coastal areas. It will take some time to settle and stabilize,” informed Prasanna Pradhan, Director, BPIA.