ROURKELA: With the promised flight operation between Rourkela and Kolkata remaining unfulfilled, the ATR-72 aircraft of Alliance Air (AA) presently operating in the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route is likely to modify its flight schedule to connect Rourkela with Kolkata via Bhubaneswar.
According to its tentative flight schedule, the AA is likely to cater to the Rourkela-Kolkata route via Bhubaneswar from September 1. Through bidding under the Regional Connectivity Scheme- Udey Desh ka Aam Nagarik (RCS-UDAN) the AA has been chosen as the Selected Airline Operator (SAO) for the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route.
A senior official of the AA requesting anonymity confirmed while the normal operation of the ATR-72 of AA on Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route would continue for seven days in a week, the ATR-72 is likely to operate between Rourkela and Kolkata via Bhubaneswar for three days in a week. It would be done by modifying the existing route schedules of the ATR-72 from September 1, he said.
The only ATR-72 of the AA as of now daily operates with a hectic schedule of at least eight long journeys originating from Kolkata to Aizawl, return to Kolkata and then flies to Jharsuguda. From Jharsuguda it goes to Bhubaneswar and then to Rourkela. From Rourkela it reaches Bhubaneswar and returns to Jharsuguda for taking the last flight of the day to Kolkata.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia in December 2022 had announced in the Parliament that in the fourth round of special bidding under RCS-UDAN the Big Charters was appointed as the Selected Airline Operation (SAO) for the Rourkela-Kolkata route and it would fly a 19-seater aircraft from February.