Regular services on the route will begin on January 12 with Bhubaneswar to Rourkela tickets priced at Rs 2,830, while the return fare is Rs 2,721.
Commercial flight services at the Rourkela airport in Odisha's Sundargarh district was launched on Saturday. Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the services virtually, while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off a 72-seater plane of Alliance Air at the Bhubaneswar airport.
The plane landed at the Rourkela airport at 11.30 am. It was given a ceremonial water cannon welcome. Regular services on the route will begin on January 12 with Bhubaneswar to Rourkela tickets priced at Rs 2,830, while the return fare is Rs 2,721. The flights will be operated under UDAN regional connectivity scheme by Alliance Air. "Glad to have flagged off the 1st flight to Rourkela Airport. Thank Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji for the support to improve connectivity to the hinterland of Odisha under UDAN. It will boost connectivity, commerce & tourism, fulfilling aspirations of people of the region," Patnaik tweeted.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for starting the flight service, Pradhan said it will boost business activities in the region. However, he hit out at the state government for not using the prime minister's photographs in the advertisements for the inaugural programme. "The prime minister has been instrumental in realising many pro-people initiatives for the development and progress of Odisha. But, the state government completely ignored the PM's role and did not emblazon any sign of acknowledgement in the recent events, including the inauguration of the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela," Pradhan said.
State Transport Minister Tukuni Sahu, who was present at the programme, brushed off the allegation, stating, "The opposition will say anything." The flight services were started days ahead of the 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup with Rourkela and Bhubaneswar hosting the tournament. A few years back, Air Odisha started services on the route but it did not continue for long. Rourkela BJD MLA Sarada Prashad Nayak said, "I am extremely thankful to our chief minister for this flight. It is his vision for which a long-time dream has become successful. This is a big moment for the city."
People who travelled on the inaugural flight thanked the government for starting the service, which brought down the travel time to 55 minutes. "This will help the city and the residents a lot. But, the timing has to be made suitable for the people of Rourkela. The flight should be early morning from Rourkela as people can complete their work in Bhubaneswar and come back home in the afternoon," said Bimal Bisi, the secretary of the Steel Executives Federation of India, who travelled on the inaugural flight.