**Bhubaneswar:** Civil Aviation Ministry has already initiated necessary steps to build a second airport on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar to ease burden on existing Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here.
This was revealed by a tweet tweeted by civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday:
Identification of a suitable land to build a second airport near Khurda on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar has been initiated. The set-up process will be fast-tracked. The new airport will reduce air traffic congestion while improving passenger convenience: HMCA @sureshpprabhu pic.twitter.com/99sIRJU2dT
— Ministry of Civil Aviation (@MoCA_GoI) May 30, 2018
Notably, the BPIA registered 39.4% growth in air passenger traffic in 2017-18 fiscal as compared to previous years. A total 32,50,635 air passengers (both domestic and international) have flown from Bhubaneswar airport in 2017-18 while the number was 23,32,433 in 2016-17.
