ROURKELA: With the expansion of the Rourkela airport likely to take several years, demand has intensified for the restoration of ATR-72 aircraft services on the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar and Rourkela-Kolkata routes to meet the growing demand of air travellers.
At present, only a nine-seater aircraft operates on the route, which is inadequate to cater to the rising passenger demand. Members of the Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), during a meeting with Rajya Sabha MP Dilip Ray two days ago, raised the issue and urged him to intervene urgently.
Ray informed them that he was already aware of the matter and was trying his best to ensure the operation of a 72-seater aircraft as an interim measure.
RCCI president Moloy Mondal said the chamber has also written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and the Union Civil Aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, seeking immediate restoration of ATR-72 services to ease the inconvenience faced by passengers.
A senior executive of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), requesting anonymity, said the need for reliable air connectivity had become more critical as the plant has begun work on plans to more than double its production capacity with an investment exceeding Rs 30,000 crore. He said the existing nine-seater service was highly inadequate.
The forced landing of a Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft near Rourkela on January 10 had also shaken passenger confidence, with many travellers now hesitant to fly in smaller aircraft.
Notably, Alliance Air had launched ATR-72 services under the RCS-UDAN scheme on the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar and Rourkela-Kolkata routes in mid-July 2025. However, despite reportedly high seat occupancy, the airline discontinued services to Rourkela, citing limited availability of ATR-72 aircraft. As a temporary arrangement, IndiaOne Air has been operating the nine-seater aircraft on the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar route since December 5, 2025.
Sources said as part of the airport expansion plan, efforts were underway to transfer complete ownership of the Rourkela airport from the SAIL to the Airports Authority of India. The Odisha government plans to upgrade the airport for Code 4C operations, enabling the handling of larger aircraft.