ROURKELA : Resentment is brewing over erratic flight operation from the steel city amid apprehension that the full takeover of SAIL’s Rourkela airport by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has slowed down.
Fearing backlash over the issue in the upcoming election, BJP’s Sundargarh MP Jual Oram has taken up the matter with Civil Aviation and Steel Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia several times in the last two months but to no avail.
Last week, Jual met Scindia again and reiterated the demand to urgently pave way for ownership transfer of Rourkela airport from SAIL to AAI. He also demanded upgradation of the airport to Code 4C category and ensure direct flight operation between Rourkela and Delhi and other key destinations of the country. Besides, Jual requested the union minister to equip the airport with instrument landing system (ILS) and night landing facility.
Jual said he urged the union minister to consider the demands on priority basis. The minister assured that the possibility of takeover of the airport by AAI from SAIL is being examined.
Earlier on December 7 last year, Jual had raised the issue in the Parliament. So far, he has written letters and personally met Scindia thrice over the issue.
On January 24, Rourkela airport was categorised for special Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operation which allows landing under condition of minimum ground visibility of 1,500 metre against the previous visibility of 5,000 metre. Reliable sources said a few days back, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation prescribed the airport to allow landing with minimum visibility of 2,800 metre after considering the capability and performance of the ATR-72 aircraft of Alliance Air and experience of the pilots.
Due to visibility issue, Alliance Air had suspended operation of its only aircraft from December 26, 2023 to January 29. Though the flight service has been resumed, issues of delay or cancellation continue.
Incidentally, the special VFR operation was introduced in view of Rourkela co-hosting the prestigious FIH Pro-League (men and women) from February 3 to 25 this. But due to issues of flight irregularity, the state government has decided to use Jharsuguda airport to ferry players.