BHUBANESWAR: AirAsia has announced to temporarily suspend flight operations between Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) and Bangkok from September 25. Director of BPIA Suresh Chandra Hota said “AirAsia officials have informed us that they will suspend flight operations between Bhubaneswar and Bangkok from September 25. However, they have not apprised us about the reason behind their decision and when it will resume the services between the two cities.”
AirAsia had started its maiden flight between the City and Thailand’s capital Bangkok in December last year and as of now the flight operates thrice a week. Meanwhile, AirAsia’s flight operations between Bhubaneswar and Kuala Lumpur, four days a week, will continue as per schedule. AirAsia is the second carrier to suspend services on the route after Air India which had called off its operations from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok and city to Bengaluru in July, 2018.
Sources said the airlines operating international flights from BPIA will find it difficult to reschedule their timings once Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gives permission to the airport to carry out the recarpeting work of its runway between 10 pm to 5.30 am from November 1 to March 31 in the first phase.
BPIA operated 44 flights in a day but some domestic flights were also suspended recently. IndiGo has suspended flight operations from Bhubaneswar to Bengaluru between September 3 and 25. Similarly, the airlines has suspended one flight from City to Delhi between August 1 and September 30, and one flight from here to Hyderabad between September 1 and 30.