On Wednesday, Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar will begin offering advance ticket purchasing for direct flights to Singapore and Bangkok.
On June 3, IndiGo Airlines will launch the much anticipated direct flight services from the capital of Odisha to Singapore and Bangkok, after Dubai. According to sources, these destinations will have flights twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday.
The twice-weekly flight between Bhubaneswar and Singapore will depart from BPIA at 6.25 am and touch down in Singapore at 1.05 pm. The return flight departs at 2.10 PM and lands at 3.50 PM in Bhubaneswar. Similar to this, the aircraft from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok will take off at 4.50 and land at 9.10 p.m. According to a tweet from CMO Odisha, the return flight departs at 10.10 p.m. and arrives here at 11.15 p.m. There is also an introductory deal of Rs 15,000 for the round-trip travel to keep the cost reasonable.
Since May 15, an Airbus-320 operated by IndiGo has provided a direct air link from the state capital to Dubai. This service is offered three times per week. The CM had begun selling airline tickets on Utkal Diwas, which is April 1.
These flights are anticipated to significantly increase tourism in Odisha and provide access to Southeast Asian nations.
Following a request for quotes from the state government, IndiGo airlines expressed interest in operating direct flights to Dubai, Singapore, and Bangkok. On December 27 of that year, the Odisha cabinet approved their bid.
A 186-seater flight will be operated from BPIA three times a week, including on weekends, and state government expenses for flight operation will be covered, per the bid proposal. Instead, the state government will keep the money made from selling tickets.
The government wants to break even within a year after allocating Rs 120 crore to assist operate these flights.
Incidentally, Air Asia launched flight operations to Bangkok in December 2018 but abruptly terminated them in September 2019 without providing any justification. On these flights, which flew three times per week, only 55-85% of the seats were reserved at the time.
Prasanta Patnaik