New Delhi: The Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar were inaugurated by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with General Vijay Kumar Singh (Retired), Minister of State for Civil Aviation, through video conferencing today.
Utkela Airport is owned by the Government of Odisha. It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 crore. The airport has a runway length of 917 metres (2,995 feet) with a width of 30 metres.
With the addition of Utkela Airport, Odisha will now have five airports.
The newly inaugurated Utkela – Bhubaneshwar – Utkela flight route is expected to enhance regional air connectivity and play an important role in the economic development of the region. IndiaOne, will be running the flights on this route from today onwards. The operator will be utilizing 9-seater Cessna C-208 aircraft sanctioned under the UDAN scheme.
This flight will operate according to the following schedule:
In his inaugural address, Scindia said that Utkela to Bhubaneswar air connectivity will reduce the time taken to travel by road which is nearly 8 hours. Now with the flight, the distance could be covered in one hour and twenty minutes. Elaborating further, the Minister said that this will be a new beginning for the Kalahandi region as economic activities will come up and generate a range of employment opportunities. He added that the Central Government was working in close cooperation with the Odisha government to develop the civil aviation infrastructure in the state.
– global bihari bureau
