BHUBANESWAR: The long-awaited direct international flight from Bhubaneswar is set to commence on March 5, the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. The direct flight service operated by Indigo airlines will connect Bhubaneswar to Dubai.
Indigo had recently won the bid to operate direct flights to three important cities. It has intimated to its travel partners that a flight (6E 0028) from Dubai will leave at 11.25 am and arrive in Bhubaneswar at 5.05 pm on March 5. The maiden international flight (6E 0027) from Bhubaneswar to Dubai will take off from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) at 6.05 pm and arrive in Dubai at 9.45 pm on the same day.
The low-cost airline operator has initially released a schedule for two days. “We intend to commence operations from Bhubaneswar airport to Dubai. This will be the first international flight from Bhubaneswar airport. The schedule is for your reference to take note of it,” read the communication of IndiGo airlines to its travel partners.
On December 27, the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved the bid of Indigo airlines, which had evinced interest in operating direct flights to Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok following a request for quotation sought by the state government.
As per the bid proposal, a 186-seater flight will be operated from BPIA thrice a week including the weekends and the expenditure towards flight operation will be borne by the Odisha government. In lieu, the revenue generated through ticketing will be retained by the state government.
Leading tour operator Benjamin Simon said travellers have already started inquiring about bookings. “Direct flight to Dubai was a long pending expectation, which is going to be fulfilled. Consistency of the service will make it sustainable and attract other operators to join. Apart from boosting tourism and the economy, the link will open up the entire western side of the world,” he said.
This is for the first time that people will have direct air connectivity with Dubai. Earlier, international travellers from the state continued to depend on Kolkata or Delhi as there was no direct flight to the foreign destination from the city.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is also likely to inaugurate a walk-through museum of Biju Patnaik’s iconic Dakota aircraft at the airport on March 5. The Dakota (DC-3) VT-AUI aircraft was recently brought from Kolkata airport to Bhubaneswar for public display.
