Bhubaneswar: The Utkela airstrip, located 15 kilometers away from the Bhawanipatna of Kandhamal district in Odisha, is all set for the maiden flight to Bhubaneswar at 12:45 pm on Thursday.
According to reports, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is scheduled to join the inauguration event via video conferencing. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will be present at the Bhubaneswar airport, while Kalahandi MP Basanta Panda, Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar, and state Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu will be present at the Utkela airport during the inaugural flight.
A nine-seater aircraft of IndiaOne Air will operate the Bhubaneswar-Utkela air service. Later, the service will be extended to Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
According to information on the airline’s website, the Utkela-Bhubaneswar flights will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The flight will leave Bhubaneswar for Utkela at 7:15 am and reach Utkela at 8:25 am. Similarly, it will depart from Utkela for Bhubaneswar at 8:50 am and reach Biju Patnaik International Airport in the state capital at 10 am.
The introductory one-way fare has been set at Rs 999.
Utkela Airport is included in the regional connectivity scheme UDAN. The Odisha government has invested around Rs 162 crore in the construction of the runway and the terminal building. The DGCA issued the flight license on August 7.
