CM Naveen Urges Centre for Direct Flight Between Bhubaneswar and Surat

Bhubaneswar: CM Naveen Patnaik on Friday urged the Centre to introduce direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Surat. In a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, the Chief Minister said lakhs of Odia families have settled in Surat and are engaged in the textile sector there.

“During the hours of urgent necessity, Odia people living in Surat face untold difficulties in reaching Odisha in time. Besides, people from both the cities visit places of tourist interest in and around the cities every year. Air connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Surat can give rise to tourist inflow to both the places,” Patnaik noted.

The Chief Minister said that it takes a lot of time to travel between these two cities. During the hours of urgent necessity, Odia people living in Surat face untold difficulties in reach Odisha in time.

Seeking his intervention in the issue, Naveen urged Suresh to introduce direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Surat either by Air India or other private airlines to introduce flight services between the two cities at the earliest.

Notably, the Civil Aviation Ministry is yet to consider Chief Minister’s request in February this year, for introduction of direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Pune.