The Utkela Airport is an airstrip owned by the government of India in Odisha. Recently, the DGCA gave a nod for it to begin commercial operations soon. The DGCA is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and is the regulatory body for aviation in India. It issued the 2B licence to Utkela airport and it will soon begin commercial flight operations. Here are all the details and updates about this piece of news.
Utkela Airport In Odisha Gets Licence To Commence Commercial Operations
Glad to share that #UtkelaAirport in #Kalahandi district has received DGCA license to start flight operations. Soon flight operations will commence to #Bhubaneswar. It will boost connectivity, commerce & tourism, fulfilling aspirations of people of the region. pic.twitter.com/cWpGpcxXzt
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) August 7, 2023
On the 7th of August, Monday, the DGCA issued the 2B licence to Utkela Airport. It is located in the Bhawanipatna region of the Kalahandi district of Odisha. This licence will enable airport officials to operate regional commercial flights.
According to an article recently published by Zee News, this particular airport is one of the airstrips that are listed under the UDAN scheme, which is the regional connectivity scheme by the government of India. It is located around 15 kilometres from the headquarters of Bhawanipatna.
The Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, recently took to his Twitter account and shared the update that the DGCA had given its approval to Utkela Airport commencing flight operations. The tweet was shared on the micro-blogging platform on the 7th of August.
Flights Between Bhawanipatna And Bhubaneshwar To Begin Soon
DGCA has accorded license for Utkela Airport (2B-VFR). Passenger Flight operations from the airport will start soon under #UDAN scheme. @CMO_Odisha @CTOdisha pic.twitter.com/d3WGzk2dv8
— DM KALAHANDI (@DmKalahandi) August 7, 2023
Now that the airport has received the 2B licence to operate commercial flights, many reports are saying that it will soon commence regional flights. It will soon commence flights between Bhawanipatna and the state’s capital, Bhubaneshwar.
The airport officials are also planning to start flights between Utkela and Raipur, which is the capital of its neighbouring state, Chhattisgarh.
The licence was issued to the airport after officials from the DGCA did their due diligence and inspected the airport and its facilities. The UDAN scheme, which stands for Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik or Let The Common Citizen Fly, was announced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the June of the year 2016.
Also Read: Indian Railways Allocate ₹370 Crore For Deep Screening Tracks At Odisha Triple Train Accident Zone
Do you think this is an effective solution for solving connectivity problems in the state? Let us know in the comments below!
Cover Image Credits: @DmKalahandi/Twitter