JHARSUGUDA: Regular flight services began from Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Airport here on Sunday with SpiceJet operating daily direct flights to Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata under Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.
“The first flight of SpiceJet landed from Hyderabad and 95 per cent of seats were booked from Jharsuguda. Passengers are very happy today,” said VSS Airport Director Sudesh Kumar Chouhan.
“It is a historic moment for regular users like us. Now we can reach within a few hours from Dubai by connecting flights,” said Dubai-based software company manager Priyadarshi Panigrahi.
Passengers from New Delhi alighted 20 minutes late at VSS Airport around 3.45 pm with 142 passengers commuting from New Delhi to Jharsuguda and 183 passengers flying to New Delhi. Similarly, 18 passengers from Kolkata-Hyderabad flight alighted at Jharsuguda and 58 left for Hyderabad in the same flight.
It was indeed a joyous moment when all the passengers, who alighted at the airport, were greeted by Vedant CEO Abhijeet Pati and HR Head Chandrasekhar Sahoo with flowers and garlands.
The first flight of SpiceJet was welcomed with water cannon salute by VSS Airport Authority. To make it memorable, an inaugural programme was arranged in the airport lounge.
VSS Airport has been built across 10,275.5 acre with an estimated cost of `210 crore. It has a handling capacity of 300 passengers.