JEYPORE: Ending decades of wait for air connectivity to South Odisha, commercial flight operations are set to start from Jeypore Airstrip from October 31. The inaugural flight from the airstrip will take off on Monday and the same will be flagged off by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The flight will operate to and from Bhubaneswar and Jeypore. Sources said, initially, a nine-seater flight will be operated by IndiaOne Air, a regional airline based in Ahmedabad. Bigger aircraft will operate from the airstrip in future.
IndiaOne Air has announced an introductory fare offer of Rs 999 from Jeypore to Bhubaneswar. As soon as the news spread, people in huge numbers thronged the airstrip to book their tickets. However, majority of them had to return empty-handed as the tickets are sold out till November 10.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted licence for Jeypore airport to carry out commercial flight operations on October 20. The licence was issued in favour of Odisha government.
The DGCA said the license authorises the aerodrome to be used as a regular place for aircraft landing and departure for all persons on equal terms. Terming it a Diwali gift for people of Odisha, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Though the Jeypore air strip was built in 1960, the commercial service could not continue due to non-availability of infrastructure. The Civil Aviation Ministry selected Jeypore airport under UDAN scheme in 2017. Development work began in 2019 and license was issued after two teams of DGCA visited Jeypore airstrip for a final inspection ten days back.On Saturday, State SC and ST Minister Jagannath Sarka and district officials visited the air strip to review the situation before the launch of the flight service on October 31.