nGovernment of Chhattisgarh in a     letter to the Centre seeks to          commence regular flight    services from Chakarbhata Airport, Bilaspur, which is ready for operation with all resources and licenses in place.

Aviation Service Director Taman Singh Sonwani in a letter to Union civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola on Wednesday stated that under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) and UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, government of Chhattisgarh has developed four airports at Jagdalpur, Chakarbhata at Bilaspur, Raigarh and Ambikapur. Jagdalpur and Bilaspur airports have already received necessary clearances and licenses from Airport Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation, public category use licenses and others.

Services from Bilaspur were scheduled for Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna and Ranchi on specified dates. Similarly, services from Jagdalpur have also not kicked off. The letter urged the Centre to ensure       commencement of regular flights from these airports.

As per details, Ministry of Civil Aviation has  awarded 10 routes in Chhattisgarh from various airports under RCS and signed MoU. Similarly, under UDAN scheme, state was to set up these four airports.

As per original plan, Air Odisha was to operate Ambikapur-Bilaspur, Bilaspur-Ambikapur, Jagdalpur-Raipur, Jagdalpur-Vishakhapatnam, Raigarh-Raipur, Raipur-Jagdalpur, Raipur-Jharsuguda, Raipur-Raigarh and Raipur-Utkela. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the first domestic flight service for the people of the state on June 15, 2018 in Jagdalpur. But, things did not move as planned and it has been discontinued.

Meanwhile, under    banner of Hawai Suvidha Jan Sangarsh Samiti people in Bilaspur for last 14 days are continuing their agitation demanding regular flight services from the city.