Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 27, 2015 : In a development that is bound to cheer air travellers from and to Odisha, Air India is all set to launch international flight operations from here to Dubai via Hyderabad before July 10. At the same time, Pawan Hans Ltd, a New Delhi-based helicopter company, has evinced interest in launching commercial helicopter services in the state.

Keeping tourist arrivals for the Rath Yatra on July 18 in this Nabakalebara year in view, the state owned Air India seems to have agreed to start the operation.

The AI decision to add Bhubaneswar to the list of international destinations was conveyed to Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan by Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Dr. Mahesh Sharma during a meeting between the two today to discuss preparations for the mega festival, the sources said

It may be mentioned that the Odisha government had first reduced to 5% and then completely waived VAT on aviation turbine fuel (ATF).

Earlier this month, chief secretary GC Pati met representatives of eight international carriers in a bid to persuade them to start flights to Bhubaneswar.

Similarly, the Helicopter Company told chief secretary GC Pati on Saturday that it is ready to launch Bhubaneswar-Paradip helicopter service to begin with.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, said there was a detailed discussion on the proposal for launching
“The company has requested the state government to provide subsidy and other support for one or two years since it cannot run full-fledged commercial service as per the sunk-cost assessment in the initial phase. It was decided that the Paradip Port Trust (PPT) would examine the request of the company and if necessary, the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) can also be roped in. Both the PPL and the IOCL will examine the requirement of Pawan Hans and accordingly take a decision,” principal secretary, General Administration GVV Sarma Sarma said.

He said the meeting also discussed the launch of Bhubaneswar-Puri, Bhubaneswar-Konark and Bhubaneswar-Chilika services by the company for promotion of tourism infrastructure in the state, the amount of required financial support by the state government, the volume of financial components and its modality.

“The meeting discussed the possibility of the company launching its services in Odisha. We have plans to launch two services, one from Bhubaneswar to Paradip and second link flight from Bhubaneswar to Chilika via Konark and Puri. We have some more works to do. We have formed two teams for these two separate flights. The company is interested to launch its service in Odisha. We are hopeful that we can start the project at the earliest possible with the support of the state administration and the chief secretary,” the company chairman and managing director B P Sharma, CMD of the company said.

The Company also asked the Paradip Port Trust to provide a helipad free of cost, a wind indicator, a guest house and one or two rooms for the visitors. Besides, the company has also sought fire-fighting facilities from the port authorities for a period of six months, according to PPT cief engineer Rama Chandra Rao.