Bhubaneswar: With a few days left for the commencement of international operations at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), the facility has completed all the arrangements to welcome its first global flight.
As per the plan, Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia will launch the first direct international flight from BPIA April 26.
“We are ready for international operations. AirAsia staff are also there at the airport and the airport is ready to welcome the international flight,” BPIA Director R Mahalingam said.
According to AirAsia officials, flight (AK 30) from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur will take off from BPIA at 11:55 pm and will reach the destination at 6:20 am. Similarly, flight (AK 31) from Kuala Lumpur to Bhubaneswar will take off at 10:10 pm and land at BPIA at 11:25 pm.
Currently, AirAsia is having direct flights to Kuala Lumpur from Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli and New Delhi. With the addition of Bhubaneswar, the airline is trying to expose its potential to eastern India.
“With Bhubaneswar now added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be serving Bhubaneswar direct, a huge market that no other airline is serving directly from Malaysia. Now, everyone from across the region can connect to Bhubaneswar with AirAsia via Kuala Lumpur,” said Aireen Omar, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad, in a statement.
Significantly, the commencement of international operations would also bring more footfalls to Terminal-II (Domestic terminal).
Currently, Terminal-II of BPIA is used only by Air India on hub-and-spoke model via Delhi. This means the national carrier is using this terminal mainly for taking international passengers from Bhubaneswar to Delhi (hub) and from there they go to different global destinations. But, AirAsia will also use Terminal-II very soon.
Meanwhile, top officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that they are also trying for bringing more connectivity to different international destinations.
“We are in talks with other airlines to bring more connectivity from the state. We hope that the airport would get more flights soon,” said a top AAI official.
Passenger traffic at the city airport has grown at a rate of 23.11 per cent in the last one year, whereas cargo traffic has increased by 19.10 per cent. Start of 24-hour operation has also brought more flights to BPIA and the AAI is planning more infrastructural expansion at this airport.
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