Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 17: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to schedule international flights from Biju Patnaik Airport to which the Centre had accorded the international airport status last year.

In a letter to Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Naveen said: “Considering the industrial, commercial and tourist importance of Odisha, a decision on this issue must be taken urgently.”

“If necessary, an official-level meeting of the civil aviation ministry and the state government, along with the representatives of interested carriers, can be urgently convened to discuss the issue,” the chief minister said.

The Union government had declared the city airport as an international airport on October 30 last year. As a follow up, the state government made arrangements to establish immigration, health and quarantine facilities at the new international airport terminal.

On November 27, 2013, the state cabinet decided to reduce the value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from the current 20 per cent to 5 per cent to ensure growth in the aviation sector and attract international carriers to start flights from the Bhubaneswar airport.

Experts also said the reduction of VAT on the ATF would not only boost air connectivity, but make the city airport an international hub for re-fuelling. It will also develop the cargo terminal, which has a potential to lift perishable export products such as marine and aqua-culture produce, floriculture, organic products and handicrafts from the region.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also set up a new terminal fully dedicated for international flights. “The failure to utilise the new terminal and the delay in operating international flights from Bhubaneswar has not only affected the economics of the AAI, but also undermined the legitimate expectations of the people of Odisha,” said Naveen.

The Odisha government has also written to the civil aviation ministry several times in the past. It has also enclosed copies of the requests from various international carriers who are interested in starting international flight operations from Bhubaneswar.

On May 5, the first international charter flight carrying a group of 12 tourists from Spain and three crew-members landed at Biju Patnaik Airport. The charter originated from Spain and reached Bhubaneswar via Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.

The 18-seater international flight, Global Express Business Jet, later flew back to Osaka international airport in Japan. The tourists were fascinated by the historical sites of Bhubaneswar, Puri, Konark and the nearby places.

“Unfortunately, no concrete decision has yet been taken by the civil aviation ministry on this extremely important issue,” rued the chief minister.