Baripada: Flight services between Bhubaneswar and Amarda in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district are expected to commence soon under the UDAN scheme.
In a recent letter to BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia wrote, “Amarda Road airstrip is available in the list of unserved airports in UDAN Document. Under UDAN 4.2, it has been identified for development for the operation of RCS flights. The route Bhubaneswar-Amarda-Bhubaneswar has been awarded to Air Taxi for the operations.”
The airstrip in Odisha’s Rasgovindpur was included in a special bid under UDAAN 4.1 in 2021 and a Central team visited the airstrip to study the feasibility of starting the operation of the airport.
Scindia stated that Rs 45 crore has also been sanctioned for the development of the airstrip. “An amount of Rs 45 crore has been sanctioned for the development of the Amarda airstrip under the UDAN scheme. It has been informed by the Government of Odisha that development work at the airstrip will be taken up once the land is handed over by the Ministry of Defence to the State. On the readiness of the airport, the Selected Airline Operator may start RCS flight operations from/to Amarda,” he added.
In February last year, Union Minister Bishweswar Tudu had again pitched for the revival of Armada Road Airstrip, which was operational during World War II.
When operational, the Amarda Road airstrip will be the sixth airport in the state.
