Direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Surat from Jan 20

Bi-weekly direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Surat in Gujarat will commence from January 20 next year, officials said.

In a letter to the director of Biju Patnaik International Airport here, Air India authorities proposed to commence flight operations between Bhubaneswar and Surat from January 20, airport officials said.

The national carrier will operate on the Bangalore- Surat-Bhubaneswar and Bangalore-Bhubaneswar-Surat routes, they said.

The flight will depart Bangalore at 6.10 am and land at Bhubaneswar at 8.10 am every Monday and Thursday, the officials said.

After a half-an-hour halt at Bhubaneswar, the flight will commence its onward journey to Surat at 8.40 am and land there at 10.40 am, they said.

The return flight will depart Bangalore airport at 6.10 am and reach Surat at 8 am every Friday and Sunday, the officials said.

From there, it will leave for Bhubaneswar at 8.30 am and arrive at the Biju Patnaik International Airport at 10.30 am, the airport officials said.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for the Centre's move.

Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi tweeted, "Congratulations to all our Odia friends in Bhubaneswar and Surat. Finally, we have Bhubaneswar-Surat flight w.e.f. 20th January, 2020.