Bhubaneswar, June 8: A delegation of AirAsia, a Malaysian low-cost airline, today inspected Biju Patnaik International Airport in the city to explore business opportunities here.
The team inspected the terminals and assessed the traffic volume at the airport. They also assessed the number of international tourists, especially those going to the southeast countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, flying from here.
Later, the delegation, led by general manager of AirAsia, India, Suresh Nair, called on chief secretary Gokul Chandra Pati and other senior officials, including the tourism secretary, and sought their inputs in this regard.
During the meeting, the state government assured the delegation of waiving the value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the international flight operators.
"The step may make foreign airlines interested in the city airport," said a state government official. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have already slashed VAT on the ATF for airlines to make such hubs in their respective states.
Biju Patnaik Airport director Sharad Kumar said: "The delegation discussed with the team the business opportunities here, and the state offered all support. Now, it depends on the commercial viability, and the team is looking into that aspect. They have already visited other airports."
In 2013, the state government had reduced VAT on the ATF from 20 per cent to 5 per cent for both international and domestic flights.
Though today the state government said that it would waive the VAT completely for international flights, for the domestic counterpart, it would continue to be 5 per cent.
The director said the reduction in VAT in 2013 had helped increase the number of domestic flights at Biju Patnaik airport from 11 to 20. "Many more players are interested in starting business here," he said.
The government officials presented the documents to AirAsia, stating why the international connectivity was the need of the hour for the state. "After the market survey, AirAsia may consider starting its operation. During the presentation, the tour operators and other officials were also present," said Kumar.
On May 19, the chief secretary had met the major airline operators - Thai Airways, SpiceJet, Fly Dubai, Jet Airways, Air Arabia and IndiGo - the International Air Transport Organisation and the Airports Authority of India in New Delhi to explore the possibilities of commencing international flights from Bhubaneswar.
The state government also wants airlines to explore the possibility of expanding the operations of their international hopping flights linking Bhubaneswar. It is of the view that many existing international airlines are operating their flights to additional cities forming part of the Buddhist Circuit, including Varanasi and Gaya, and that Bhubaneswar could be easily linked to that circuit as Odisha has Buddhist tourist sites.
