(The Pioneer)
The contract of the Air Odisha to operate flights from Jharsuguda under the UDAN scheme is likely to be cancelled for discontinuing flights from the airport. Talking to mediapersons on Wednesday, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Air Odisha is a substandard company which had bagged tender in the first round of bidding under the regional air connectivity scheme.
Presently the contract with the airlines is under review and if needed it would be cancelled and new tenders would be issued under the UDAN scheme, he added. Pradhan further said the Government is in contact with Indian Airlines, SpiceJet and IndiGo authorities for permanent operation of ATR-type flights from the Jharsuguda Airport.
Notably, as the Air Odisha has suddenly suspended its flight operations from Jharsuguda Airport after October 6, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged him to restore the UDAN flight operations and also officially name the airport as ‘Veer Surendra Sai Airport’.
Patnaik in his letter has stated that the abrupt suspension of the existing operations has given a severe jolt to the aviation sector in the State and has also hurt the sentiments of the people of western Odisha. He also urged the introduction of commercial flights in addition to the UDAN flights stating that the State Government is committed to provide all necessary fund and support for further expansion of Jharsuguda Airport.
