Bhubaneswar, Jan. 1: The private operator of city buses has withdrawn its service from Biju Patnaik International Airport and short terminated the route that was earlier connecting the only airport of the state to Nandankanan.

An official of the Dream Team Shahara (DTS), the operator, said the airport authorities did not provide them a suitable parking lot near the new terminal despite several requests from them and the state government.

'We had to incur losses, because a few people took our buses from the airport, where we had been provided a parking lot around 400 metres away from the terminal. Though private taxi services were provided at the doorstep of the terminal, the city buses were not given ample space even during the flight landing time. This prompted us to stop our buses from plying from the airport,' said Sudhansu Jena, chief executive officer of the DTS.

The officials said they had been operating 10 non-AC buses and four AC or Redline buses from airport to Nandankanan. Now, these buses are plying between Rajmahal Square and Nandankanan, skipping the airport.

'The buses had to wait at the airport for hours to get passengers. Now, these buses can help people who really need the service. The short termination will help many people, as it will run on time,' said a DTS official.

However, airport director Sharad Kumar said the city buses had been provided with a suitable parking space and they had come closer to the terminal.

'Passengers here might not be preferring the city bus service. Besides, the operators run these buses on one route, which might be dissuading passengers, who prefer private taxi or autorickshaw to go directly to their destinations,' said Kumar.

The passengers are of the view that the state government and the airport authorities should come up with a proper plan to facilitate this cheap mode of transport. 'The authorities should think of passengers, who prefer to spend as less as possible to reach their destination,' said Rupak Mohapatra, a frequent flier.

This is not the first time the city bus services have been affected. Earlier, the DTS had stopped plying of the Redline buses on the Cuttack-Puri route via Bhubaneswar after being subjected to harassment by private bus operators in Cuttack.

In a related development, the state government has refused a proposal given by the DTS to ply Redline buses between Puri and Bhubaneswar touching tourist places such as Puri, Dhauli, Khandagiri, Nandankanan and Ekamra Haat.

The government rejected the proposal saying there was no need for that at the moment, said an official.