Governor's aircraft diverted due to low visibility at Rourkela, Odisha
ROURKELA: Governor Raghubar Das’s aircraft was unable to land at Rourkela due to poor visibility on Sunday, exposing the inadequacies at the city airport.
The aircraft circled the airport between 10 am and 10:30 am but had to return without landing.
Das was scheduled to visit Kendudihi village in the Lahunipada block to offer condolences to Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram following the death of Oram’s wife, Jhingia Oram. However, the landing denial due to visibility issues prevented the visit.
The Rourkela airport, which is operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) but owned by SAIL, is yet to address critical needs such as an Instrument Landing System (ILS) and night landing facilities for all-weather operations. Although there are plans to enhance the airport for Code 3C operations, these upgrades remain stalled. The airport has been operational under the RCS-UDAN initiative since January 7, 2023, with Alliance Air providing daily flights to Bhubaneswar and thrice-weekly flights to Kolkata. Despite these services, frequent cancellations continue to trouble passengers.
Sources said the airport’s full-fledged operations are unlikely until the AAI assumes complete ownership. However, the AAI has reportedly shown reluctance to invest in Rourkela due to the presence of the Jharsuguda airport.
In the lead-up to the 2024 general elections, former minister for civil aviation and steel Jyotiraditya Scindia had assured Union Minister Jual Oram of steps toward transferring airport ownership to the AAI. Yet, with the formation of the Modi government 3.0 and a new Minister for Civil Aviation, progress on this front has not progressed.
Jual Oram, now serving as Minister for Tribal Affairs, has reiterated his commitment to ensuring the airport’s transition to AAI management. The BJP’s power at both the central and state levels has raised expectations of people for progress on this issue.
The Rourkela airport, currently operating under ARC 2C certification, has recently been upgraded to allow Special VFR (Visual Flight Rules) operations with a minimum visibility of 2,800 metre. Additionally, the outgoing BJD government appointed RITES Ltd in November 2023 to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for upgrading the airport to Code 3C standards.
Rourkela ADM Ashutosh Kulkarni said, the need for an ILS has been communicated to the Transport Department, and an early decision is expected.