At present, the State has Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar and Veer Surendra Sai Airport at Jharsuguda.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday provided licence for operation of flights in the Rourkela airport, saying it will pave opportunities to connect the Steel City with rest of the nation.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed the news in a tweet.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) for operation and management of the airstrip in May last year.
SAIL is the owner of the Rourkela airport and signing an MoU with AAI is mandatory for introduction of commercial flights from the airport.
In September last year, the AAI had announced that there are three more airports will come up in Odisha in 2019. These are in Jeypore, Rourkela and Utkela (Kalahandi).
The infrastructures of the three airports are being developed at a total investment of over Rs 100 crore, AAI Member (Planning) AK Pathak had said.
Prasanta Patnaik