Expressing concern over suspension of flights from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok and Bengaluru from the city airport, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged the Centre to restore the services by the Air India (AI) on these routes.
In a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Patnaik urged him to impress the Air India to restore the operations and also explore the possibility to start international operations from Bhubaneswar to other South East Asian countries considering the immense potential in these routes.
With the operation of the first international flight from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok in December 2017, the Air India was expected to expand its services to other international destinations. However, the suspension of flight services to Bangkok would affect the tourism sector in Odisha.
“It may be recalled that although the Bhubaneswar airport got international tag on October 30, 2010, the flight from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok was flagged off only on December 10, 2017.
It was expected that the Air India would subsequently expand its operations to other destinations like Singapore, Indonesia, Sri lanka, etc. But the abrupt suspension of the existing operations has been a severe jolt to the aviation and tourism sector in the State,” Patnaik wrote.
Similarly, the withdrawal of the domestic flight between Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar has come as setback for the IT industry in the State, the CM wrote in the letter.