Bhubaneswar, Aug. 14: Vistara of Tata SIA Airlines Limited will start its New Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight service on October 25.

The service will include two aircraft of Airbus 320 category.

According to the winter schedule submitted to the Airports Authority of India, the first flight will take-off from Delhi at 7.10am and reach Biju Patnaik International Airport at 9.20am. It will again depart from the city airport at 10.00am. Similarly, the afternoon flight will leave Delhi at 4.35pm and arrive Bhubaneswar at 6.45pm. On return trip, it will arrive Delhi at 9.35pm. The Vistara schedule will start from October 25 and remain effective till March 3, 2016.

The service is expected to come handy for travellers from both the end to get their works done during the day and return back home by the evening.

"With the decision to reduce the value added tax (VAT) for domestic operators from 20 to 5 per cent on November last by the state cabinet, many airlines are planning to upgrade or start new services to Biju Patnaik Airport. We are also hopeful for an international service to Bangkok by IndiGo," said airport director Sharad Kumar.

Initially, the state government lowered VAT from the ATF only for the international operators on October 30, 2013, but later the facility was extended to domestic and intra-state airlines as well. "We hope for the intra-state air service in near future. Odisha has a potential air connectivity between Paradip, Rourkela, Angul, Jharsuguda and Jeypore," said Kumar.

While the Bangalore-based Fly Easy would start operations in September with two flight connecting Bangalore and the city airport, GoAir is also planning an air link with the IT capital shortly. Air India is also planning to have a new flight to Calcutta, he said.

According to the new aviation policy, the international airport will be the part of a "hub and spoke model" to feed international aircraft in bigger metro airports. So, there might be more feeder aircrafts with facility to have immigration and customs services done here. At present, Air India runs two feeder aircraft linking the city airport with Delhi.

"Direct flight to an international destination may not be a viable option for the airlines, but through the feeder services, people are getting respite from unnecessary hassles at the metro airports," said travel planner Debashish Mohapatra.