Finally, the SpiceJet started direct flights from the Veer Surendra Sai Airport here on Sunday. The first commercial flight took off from the airport to New Delhi at around 3:40 pm.
Later, the second flight to Hyderabad took off at 4:10 pm and last flight to Kolkata departed at 8: 40 pm.
“It is a historic day for everybody as a lot of efforts were made in this regard,” said Jharsuguda Airport Director SK Chauhan.
Travellers from western Odisha can now avail flight services from here to New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata instead of travelling all the way to Bhubaneswar and Ranchi.
Earlier, a SpiceJet team had visited the airport on February 9 and inspected the infrastructure and other security-related aspects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the airport on September 22, 2018, but the flight services were stopped after the Union Civil Aviation Ministry cancelled the licence of Air Odisha, which was operating the services from Jharsuguda to Raipur, on the charges of irregularities in November 2018.
