Sambalpur, Dec. 15: Air Odisha Aviation Private Limited is planning to start flights between the city and Bhubaneswar by the end of this month.

"A meeting to finalise the date of the trial flight will take place shortly, and officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation will be present during the flight," company director Trideep Rout said today.

"A nine-seater aircraft will fly between the two cities. Tickets would cost around Rs 2,000 a person. To begin with, there will be one flight daily between the two cities. The state government will provide the required support such as security, fire service, parking and other requirements at Jamadarpali Airstrip," he said.

Jamadarpali Airstrip, located 10km from the city, is a well-maintained facility and used for the landing of helicopters and small aircrafts. It was commissioned in the late 1950s. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his poll campaign last year, had used the 1.2km airstrip while arriving the city by a small aircraft.

Rout expressed hope that the service would get good response from the region, which has several industrial units.

The investment company's manager Sanjeev Panda, who hails from Sambalpur, said the city residents, who lived outside the state, would benefit from this service. "We depend on train or buses to go to Sambalpur after reaching Bhubaneswar. An air link between the two cities will help us."

Sambalpur University teacher Chandra Sekhar Panda said the proposed air link would also give a boost to the education sector.

"The city is emerging as an education hub with four state-run universities and the Indian Institute of Management here. Due to the lack of proper communication, many teachers and experts prefer not to visit the area. An air service will certainly help eminent academics visiting these institutes," said Panda.