Odisha seeks Bhubaneswar-Pune direct flight

Bhubaneswar: Odisha today urged the Centre to introduce direct flight services between Bhubaneswar and Pune by Air India or any other private airlines.

In a letter to Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapati Raju Pusapati, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said "I would like to seek your personal intervention in the matter for introduction of direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Pune by Air India or any other private airlines at the earliest".

He pointed out that the two cities are prominent educational and IT hubs of the country for which many academicians and IT professionals frequently communicate between the two cities. Besides, tourists from Pune also pay visit to places like Puri, Konark, Chilika in Odisha while people from the State also visit to Maharashtra-based tourist destinations like Shiridi, Mahabaleswar, Trimbakeswar near Pune, he cited.

In absence of direct air communication passengers have to choose costlier routes to reach Pune via Hyderabad or Mumbai, which is also time consuming for them, he mentioned in the letter.