Passengers at Biju Patnaik International Airport
Bhubaneswar: Domestic air connectivity, which is down from 28 to 18 destinations now at Biju Patnaik International Airport here, is expected to normalise in Aug, as at least six of the 10 places dropped from the roster is likely to be reconnected, with Air India’s low-cost arm carrier Air India Express expanding its fleet size by procuring 24 more aircraft, sources said.Besides, the airline may be interested in new destinations from Bhubaneswar, they added.The six destinations that are likely to be reconnected are Jharsuguda, Lucknow, Indore, Dehradun, Jaipur and Goa. The four remaining domestic destinations that have been dropped are MOPA, Port Blair, Cochin and Hindon.Sources said aircraft delivery is scheduled in July, and in Aug, the new flight plan of the carrier is likely to come.“As many as 24 aircraft, comprising Airbus 320/321 and Boeing 737, are expected to be procured in July. The airline will definitely use its aircraft at multiple locations. It can’t keep them idle. Earlier, Air India Express flights are known to fly to smaller airports also. So, Aug will see the domestic sector reviving,” said a top airport officer.Citing operational capability as why the airline should be attracted to operate from Bhubaneswar, airport director Prasanna Pradhan said Parallel Taxi Track and Rapid Exit Taxiway have been commissioned from April 16, helping the airport to free the runway soon after an aircraft lands.
Sources said out of 24 aircraft, if the airline deploys even four aircraft, they can take planned multiple flights to cover six to seven destinations.After 10 domestic destinations and two international destinations (Singapore and Dubai) were put off the roster, daily passenger footfall at the city airport dropped by around 1,200-1,500. “If the services to six destinations are restored, at least 800-1,000 passenger footfall can be recovered/compensated.
In the winter schedule, the situation will further improve as the months are never loss-making,” the officer added.Annual passenger footfall at Bhubaneswar airport crossed 50-lakh mark in Nov, with more than 4 lakh monthly footfall and 14,000-15,000 daily footfall.Sources said barring Cochin, Hindon, MOPA and Port Blair, other dropped destinations, including that of Jharsuguda, had no issue with the passenger footfall. The Jharsuguda-Bhubaneswar flight, having 70 seats, was booked to capacity every day. The airline cited commercial reasons for stopping the operation.
