Naveen urges Centre to include Bhubaneswar airport in aviation policy

Odisha CM says his state is in dire need of upgrade in its civil aviation infrastructure

Dismayed at non-inclusion of the Bhubaneswar international airport in the draft civil aviation policy, chief minister Naveen Patnaik has urged the Centre to include it in the proposed policy.

“Despite the fact that the Union Cabinet had declared Bhubaneswar as an international airport, the policy does not provide for international airport at Bhubaneswar. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the state government have already spent public money on the construction of an international airport at Bhubaneswar. People in Odisha are dismayed at the exclusion of Bhubaneswar from the list of proposed international airports in the country”, Patnaik wrote in the letter to civil aviation minister A Gajapathi Raju.

“I would strongly urge upon you to include Bhubaneswar in the proposed policy as an international airport in the national interest. I eagerly look forward to a favourable response and for an appropriate amendment in the draft aviation policy”, he suggested. Odisha being a manufacturing, commercial and tourist centre is in need of urgent upgradation of the civil aviation infrastructure, Patnaik said. Private airlines are willing to operate international flights from Bhubaneswar considering its potential. “Bhubaneswar offers congenial facilities at the airport, quick transport, comfortable accommodation and clean ambience in the city. Developing the city as an important airlines hub would create significant business opportunities for everyone and give a new thrust to national development”, he stated.

Opposing the hub and spoke model of the aviation policy, Patnaik said, the model is fraught with risks of accentuating development induced inequalities.

“Intra-state regional connectivity also needs to be attended to in the policy by including provisions for active state support and collaboration with private players. International carriers need to be given greater role in our skies on all routes like several other large countries to make our aviation industry more efficient and competitive and prevent arbitrary pricing by monopolies”, he added.

The chief minister questioned the Centre for not implementing its decision after notifying the Biju Patnaik airport in the city as an international airport on November 2013. He pointed out that facilities for immigration clearance, health and quarantine are already available at the airport. The draft aviation policy envisages six metro airports to act as airline hubs.

Patnaik, however, argued that confining the idea of hubs to only six airports will be retrogressive and uneconomical as aircrafts have to wait in queues to be given space in busy airports for landing. The airlines also have to spend more in operating from busy airports due to high congestion and the travellers bear avoidable inconvenience of baggage transfer and change of flights.