Air Odisha cries foul after tender cancellation notice

Bhubaneswar: Just months after the launch of intra-state airline Air Odisha, the General Administration (GA) department has served a tender cancellation notice to the local carrier.

According to sources, a show-cause notice was served to the homegrown carrier on May 26. On May 30, the Air Odisha authorities furnished their response to the show-cause.

Alleging that the tender cancellation notice is a conspiracy against the carrier, Air Odisha MD Santosh Pani has sought the intervention of chief minister Naveen Patnaik in the matter.

Earlier this month, a fraud case was registered against Air Odisha for cheating a shareholder of Rs 1.5 crore.

Notably on January 19, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had flagged off the intra-state flight from Biju Patnaik International Airport. The government is running the intra-state air service in collaboration with Air Odisha and has agreed to provide subsidy to the carrier on the basis of nautical miles covered by it in a month.