Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the Union Government and all airline operators (AOs) to introduce more flights for both domestic and international destinations and improve air connectivity in Odisha.
Addressing a meeting of 25 chief executive officers (CEOs) of different airline operators, Patnaik asked them to introduce flights from Bhubaneswar to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Bangkok in view of presence of techno-savvy diaspora in different countries, the emergence of globe-trotting middleclass, growth of tourism and rapid growth in various sectoral economies.
“Odisha has witnessed rapid growth over the years and made its foothold strong in many areas including mining, manufacturing, tourism, culture, sports, education and IT. In last few years, the aviation traffic in Odisha has seen immense growth. Though the domestic flight connectivity has seen a noticeable improvement, there is greater scope for international connectivity,” pointed out Patnaik.
Stating that a sizeable techno-savvy Odia Diaspora is active mainly in the countries like the United States of America, Europe, Australia and the South East Asian countries and a substantial population is also working in Middle-East countries, he noted, “I strongly believe that our “Skilled in Odisha” module has strengthened Brand Odisha, making our
He requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to introduce new connectivity from Odisha to domestic destinations like Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Vizag, Kochi and Ranchi.
He said the state Government will provide all necessary support for not only developing infrastructure for aviation but also consider incentives in the shape of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the airline operations.
The Government has proposed to provide aviation fuel at one per-cent Value Added Tax to private carriers for flights to North East and areas lacking air connectivity, informed the Chief Secretary.
In last 5 years, air traffic from Bhubaneswar has seen a growth of 29 per cent against national average of 17 per cent. The State has potentiality which we are chalking out an action plan, said Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.
It was informed that 14 new flights are planned to/from Odisha at the meeting. Most of the flights are scheduled to operate between January to Summer 2020. The planned destinations are Kolkata-Jharsuguda, Bhubaneswar-Varanasi, Varanasi-Bhubaneswar, Jharsuguda-Mumbai, Prayagraj-Bhubaneswar, Delhi-Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Bhubaneswar-Kalaikunda, Bhubaneswar-Bangkok, Bangkok- Bhubaneswar, Singapore-Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar-Abu Dhabi.
Among others, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera, Airport Authorities of India Chairman Arvind Singh and Civil Aviation Joint Secretary Usha Padhee spoke.